Some of the first to traverse the two-way pedestrian and cyclist pathway on the newly opened Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, got to experience sweeping views of the industrial and urban skylines of the two cities and see the Detroit River shimmer.
The 12-foot-wide path — separated from vehicle traffic by concrete barriers — opened to the public at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, and judging by the hundreds of people who lined up to see it, it could become a new attraction for the area.
It is, after all, free to walk or bike across, and something folks here haven’t had for a quarter century.
Sixty-three-year-old Ron Lasley, of Westland, his friend, Deb Mort, 53, of Canton; daughter, Katlyn Ewing, 39, of Farmington Hills, and his five grandkids — Ronnie and Austin Lasley, 9 and 11, and Christian, Chloe, and Caleb, 14, 17, and 20, respectively — were among the first in line.
The three-generation clan had gotten up at 4 a.m. to be there.
“I’m super excited,” Ron Lasley said. “They’re here to make history with their grandfather.”
To be a part of history — indeed — was how many of the walkers, runners and cyclists from both sides of the border thought about their early morning crossing. Metro Detroiters showed up in Tigers caps, Lions T-shirts, and, of course, Red Wings sweaters, while the Canadians tended to sport their national symbol, the maple leaf.
Some crossing, however, had expected the lines to be even longer.
Finally, a way to walk to Canada
Officials with the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority have long touted the nearly 2-mile-long route, most of it the length of the bridge, as a new way to cross the border and take in the sights. The 722-foot towers mimic the curves of hockey sticks and hold up the structure named after the famous Canadian-born Red Wing.
It isn’t the first bridge walkway across the Detroit River, but the there hasn’t been one since 2001.
When the Ambassador Bridge was new, opening in 1929, it offered a similar path, but that was before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Officials got spooked that the structure could become a target and closed it. In 2013, with a lane-widening project, that bridge’s pedestrian path was permanently removed.
Wednesday was an almost perfect morning for a stroll, with a blue sky and 80-something degree weather.
From the new bridge, those crossing could see the older one and even got a top-down view of barges below.
Throughout the morning, people stopped to take selfies and encourage each other. One even passed out mints. “Keep going, almost to the top,” someone shouted to a struggling biker. A stranger greeted another with a friendly, “Welcome to Canada, buddy!”
Everyone wants to try it
The new path also gave folks a close up view of how the bridge — the longest cable-stayed main span in North America — is put together, including the massive bolts helping to hold the 2,798-foot span together. It is six lanes across and when the trucks drive by, you are close enough to feel it rumble past.
The pedestrian walkway joins other international bridges in New York — the Peace Bridge and Rainbow Bridge over the Niagara River, and Thousand Islands Bridge over the St. Lawrence River — that each also have long offered a similar feature.
Although, longtime advocates of it have said, they weren’t always sure it would happen.
“A number of people are coming here from around the world to check out that bridge,” Todd Scott, executive director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, told the Free Press, adding that “it has been a long slog” to make sure that it was built. “People think it’s great to drive over the bridge, but everyone wants to bike and walk it.”
The new path can be entered from either end.
How much the new bridge — and walkway — will change Detroit and Windsor remains to be seen. It’s also was unclear on Wednesday how well walkers, runners and bikers — who are all moving at different paces — will do sharing the same pathway.
To return to the United States, you must have proper ID — a passport, Michigan enhanced ID or driver’s license or NEXUS card — and go through customs, just like you would at most other crossings, even if you never actually enter Canada.
Be prepared for an incline
The bridge authority estimates it takes 45 minutes to walk across the bridge, 20 minutes to bike it, and the path links two networks of trails, the Trans Canada Trail on the Canadian side and the Iron Belle Trail and Great Lakes Way on the American.
Detroit Free Press Marathon officials, however, do not plan to incorporate the new bridge pathway into the race course, but said they instead “look forward to continuing our partnership with both the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel as our international crossings” for the race.
You are permitted — if you wish — to walk or ride partway across and then turn around, but you’ll still need to present identification, and pass through border patrol, which, on the American side, may feel intimidating, with agents asking whether you are a citizen and where you live.
And if you are out of shape, be prepared for an incline — about a 5% grade, as the span climbs to a peak height of 150 feet above the water — that might leave you winded. Some cyclists, on Wednesday, found themselves struggling, while others were forced to make stops before reaching the midpoint.
What isn’t allowed on the bridge are scooters, hoverboards, skateboards, rollerblades and pets.
Patrick Roy Mifek found that out.
Crossing, but quietly protesting
The 57-year-old was among the first Canadians on Wednesday to bike across.
He wanted, he said, to be one of the first to skate across the bridge. But, he said, when he learned that wasn’t allowed, he pedaled across instead. He said it took, he perhaps exaggerated, just five minutes. He came from London, Canada, about two hours away, stayed overnight in Windsor and got up at about 6:30 to stand in line.
“I huffed and puffed it,” he said.
Mifek made a point, however, to say that he loved the new bridge, but even though he entered the United States, he had refused to “spend a dime” in America, a protest against what he considered President Donald Trump’s harmful policies toward his homeland.
E-bikes in which an electric motor provides power only when the rider is actively pedaling are OK, but not during the “first few weeks” that the path is open to “ensure safety.” The bridge authority did not yet have a specific date for when the restriction would be lifted.
Shane Rabideau, who crossed the bridge in a recumbent bike with American and pirate flags attached, said he’s eagerly waiting for that to happen. His bike, he said, also can be powered with a battery, which he disconnected so he could cross.
Open daily, from 8 to 8
To keep the path from getting too congested on Wednesday, security only let a few folks on at a time.
“Be patient,” officials urged those in line.
Most people were.
The path, bridge officials said, will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from April 1 to Oct. 31, with the last entry at 7 p.m. During the rest of the year, the path opens at the same time but closes at 4 p.m., with the last entry also an hour before closing.
Parking on the Detroit side is available at the Clark Park trailhead, 1130 Clark Ave, Detroit.
Groups, such as bike clubs, have already planned future events connected to the path.
As for Ron Lasley, who brought his family with him to cross the the bridge and make memories, he said the excursion turned out to be all that he had hoped it would. He smiled as he made his way back down the bridge after reaching the other side, and added: “We made it!”
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Crowds line up to walk and bike across new Gordie Howe bridge
Reporting by Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
