Southwest : News from Detroit

The organization Open Streets is applying for permits to convert stretches of Michigan Avenue and Vernor Highway into exclusively pedestrian and bike streets. 

The small business competition awards grant funding, design and technical support, and landlord-tenant match-making assistance.

For those wondering what bus rapid transit might look like in SE Michigan, look to Cleveland, which has had a BRT line since 2008. 

While not a replacement for a driver's license, municipal IDs will increase access to services for all Detroiters.

The Detroit Narrative Agency will give up to 12 grants for moving image projects for Detroiters telling their story. 

Now in its sixth year, Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest rewards entrepreneurs on the path to opening brick-and-mortar storefronts in either Detroit, Highland Park, or Hamtramck with a $50,000 cash prize and a number of other benefits. 

On April 20, the New Economy Initiative kicked-off the third and final year of the NEIdeas challenge, "a two-tiered challenge awarding $500,000 to existing small businesses in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park for their ideas to grow."

As recently as 2009, metro Detroit experienced the largest population losses in the country. In 2015, the region grew, albeit modestly.

There are four major award categories for which business and property owners can apply for a share of $500,000 in grant funding.

Last year, Motor City Muckraker's Steve Neavling focused his attention on the struggles of the Detroit Fire Department to great effect. This year he's turning his attention to education in Detroit.

Organizers hope efforts like the installation of bike racks and the painting of murals will help breath life into a struggling commercial section of Michigan Avenue.

Twenty of the 158 Knight Cities Challenge finalists are Detroit-based projects. The winners will be announced later this spring.

After being closed for 2.5 years while receiving $46 million in repairs, the Fort Street drawbridge over the Rouge River is once again open to traffic.