DTE Energy is part of a winning team energized to improve mobility in downtown Detroit and help bridge two neighborhoods.
Selected as one of three winners in Ford Motor Company’s City:One Challenge, the team—composed of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, DTE Energy and local artists—is collaborating on a project designed to turn Michigan Avenue over the Lodge Freeway into an inviting, pedestrian-friendly walkway. The purpose is to better connect Corktown and southwest Detroit to the city’s downtown area, two areas that were separated when the freeway was built in the 1960s.
“The project involves the installation of colorful public art commissioned from two Detroit-born artists, Freddy Diaz and Donald Calloway, paired with additional lighting and amenities,” Kevin Waskelis, DTE’s neighborhood revitalization senior strategist, told American Gas. The artist selection also echoes the theme of bridging the two communities: Diaz lives and works in southwest Detroit, while Calloway is based downtown.
“We were thrilled to be a part of this project as it will make the bridge more inviting for people using all modes of transportation, including pedestrians, cyclists and drivers,” said Waskelis. —Carolyn Kimmel