Traffic island 'beach' opens in downtown Detroit [View all]

from USA TODAY:


DETROIT -- A traffic island in the heart of downtown Detroit has been transformed into an urban beach thanks to a civic group whose shopping list included about 150 tons of golf-course bunker sand.

The beach, on Woodward Avenue at the southern end of the city's Campus Martius neighborhood, is modeled after a similar program in France called Paris Plages, according to Bob Gregory, senior vice president of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. It became operational earlier this month, although the official grand opening is Friday.

Gregory declined to say how much the beach project cost. It will close for the season at the end of September.

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"It's all about activating public spaces, including parks, streets and sidewalks, so people have a great experience in the public space," said Gregory. "The point of it is to revitalize downtown Detroit and the city of Detroit by getting people outside and enjoying their city and generating new business, restaurants and cafes. It's both social for the people and economic development. ... It was done as a fun experiment to see if people like it. If people like it, we'll bring it back." ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/27/traffic-island-beach-opens-in-downtown-detroit/2466147/