Joe Louis Greenway On-Street Segments

The Project

The Joe Louis Greenway (JLG) is a 27.5 mile recreational pathway that will unify Detroit’s neighborhoods, people, and parks.

Spalding DeDecker performed the topographical survey and is designing the on-street bicycle and pedestrian facilities for three segments of the Joe Louis Greenway: the Jefferson-Clark; Davison West; and Littlefield.

Jefferson Ave. & Clark Street

Extending 5,280 feet along Jefferson Avenue (starting at Campbell) and Clark Street (to Clark Park). This segment will serve as the connection from the Gordie Howe International Bridge to the neighborhoods of Southwest Detroit and beyond.

The scope of this project includes pavement repairs, pavement markings, signage, and delineators along the route, as well as bikeway connections at each end of the segment. The segment budget is to be $700,000 project budget and can be bid in the 2025 construction season.

Littlefield – Fullerton, Buena Vista, and Cherrylawn

These segments traverse through the Littlefield neighborhood, encompassing Fullerton Avenue, Cherrylawn Street, and Buena Vista Avenue accounting for approximately 3,770 feet of improvements within the Littlefield neighborhood.

Documentation along Cherrylawn includes two phases, one for the tactile paint and post interventions and one for more long-term slow streets traffic calming including curb extensions, mini traffic circle, traffic calming, and transition to the MDOT pedestrian bridge. Improvements along Buena Vista include slow street interventions, sidewalk improvements, and crossing to the JLG off-street segment. Fullerton improvements include one way bike lanes with buffer from Cherrylawn to the I-96 bridge. Buena Vista and Fullerton segments include coordination with SmithGroup and DPW to align with the crossing of the JLG off-street segments.

Davison

This segment extends along West Davison Ave., spanning from Wyoming to the I-96 on-ramp with improvements focused from Ohio St. to Ewald Circle totaling approximately 5,340 linear feet. Improvements along this segment include various elements such as the development of a curb separated protected bikeway system; realignment of the curbs on Davison to align vehicles with thru travel lanes; removal of various openings within the medians; transition improvements at the MDOT pedestrian bridge and JLG Davison crossing; curb extension on westbound Davison and associated taper and pavement markings, signage, and delineators; sidewalk and roadway pavement repairs; landscape architecture; and drainage improvements within the limits of the project budget.

Spalding DeDecker’s Landscape Architecture team will design and detail specialty pavement and site furnishings as needed at the transition areas on Davison as well as planting plans and landscape restoration plans for the additional planted areas within the Davison curb extension and median areas. Documentation will be completed adhering to the MDOT Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant for the Davison West segment unless an alternative funding source is identified.