Belle Isle is getting new road markings, a redesigned cycle track, and a stretch of Central Avenue about to flip direction — all before Memorial Day weekend.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said the changes will be visible to parkgoers by the close of next week. The cycle track, weather permitting, lands by Friday.
The improvements come out of the Belle Isle Park Multimodal Mobility Study, a years-long effort to reduce congestion, improve accessibility, and raise safety for everyone using the park.
Detroit residents and visitors have complained for a long time about speeding, distracted driving, and crashes on the island. That includes a fatal hit-and-run in recent years that killed a young beachgoer. Transportation advocates have argued the park's infrastructure has long prioritized vehicles over the people on foot and on bikes.
The road work touches two distinct zones. A new two-way cycle track will provide a separate bicycle loop along the perimeter of the 982-acre island. On the road itself, Central Avenue transitions to two-way vehicular traffic from Picnic Way to Portage Way. The scenic cut through the wetlands in the center of the island shifts from one-way eastbound to one-way westbound.
DNR urban area field planner Amanda Treadwell said in a statement that "providing additional westbound traffic from the east end of the park will support reducing traffic congestion on Riverbank, particularly at the beach area, where traffic congestion has been identified as a safety concern."
The MacArthur Bridge entry and exit points will get high-visibility road markings and signage to move cyclists and drivers cleanly through the crossings. The DNR also wants faster riders off the shared path. Treadwell said the new lane is designed to pull high-speed cyclists onto the road track, leaving walkers and casual riders to use the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Trail at their own pace. The traffic pattern changes on Central Avenue will require a full road closure from Picnic Way to the Lakeside. Cross traffic stays open at Picnic Way and Inselruhe.
Construction runs in stages through June 5. Central Avenue closes May 26 through May 29, with a tentative reopening under the new configuration on the 29th. The week of May 18 covers cycle track markings on Casino Way and The Strand, in areas that were previously unmarked. If lane striping on Central Avenue is not finished inside the closure window, intermittent closures could follow into early June. Updated timelines post at Michigan.gov/DNRClosures.
Later this summer, additional wayfinding improvements arrive — new directional and facility signage throughout the island.
The work is already rolling.
