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Mount Clemens commissioners review plan to extend downtown bike path and link regional trails
Summary
City staff described a plan to extend an existing bike path into downtown using widened sidewalks and in-street striping with protective barriers, funded in part through a SEMCOG planning grant, while noting MDOT will make final safety decisions for crossings.
City staff and commissioners discussed plans to bring a regional bike path into Mount Clemens’ downtown during a work session. Staff said the downtown segment would connect an existing trail through Shady Side, cross Grashett at the park, and continue along a widened sidewalk and down North and South Main to a temporary terminus at North Main and Grashett. The work is expected to rely largely on pavement markings, sidewalk segments where already widened, and selected in-street protected lanes with barriers rather than pouring extensive new concrete.
Staff noted a joint SEMCOG planning grant, awarded last year, that coordinates trail planning with neighboring communities and aims to link local routes to larger regional projects such as the Great Lakes Wave route. Officials said Selfridge Air National Guard Base has repeatedly constrained routing along North River Road and will influence final corridor options.
Commissioners emphasized coordination with MDOT, which will complete its own safety review and determine crossing treatments and signalization as part of its road projects. Staff said the city completed and shared a road-safety audit for North River Road with MDOT for consideration but does not control MDOT’s final design choices.
Participants discussed practical details including where the path will be on the sidewalk versus in the street, the use of different barrier types, and how the connection would tie into the Clinton River spillway trail and longer-distance facilities such as the 16‑Mile Trail. Commissioners also raised local concerns—parking encroachment at Shady Side Park and the need for signage and enforcement—to keep users and children safe where the route approaches parks and splash pads.
The work session included a general consensus that a downtown connection could bring more visitors into the business district and increase access to shops and restaurants, but commissioners acknowledged there are unanswered design and coordination questions that staff will continue to refine ahead of any budget request or construction contract.
