Restaurants flock to Renaissance Center

[Allan]

Wednesday, December 24, 2003

Restaurants flock to Renaissance Center

By R.J. King / The Detroit News

DETROIT

[turlough]

This is very good news it seems that Ren Center is the place to be they have a lot going for them I think this will be a nice place during the superbowl.

[Allan]

Yea, if only the Ren Cen wasn't so disconnected from downtown. The Ren Cen is basically a vertical suburb .

[monsoon]

[Allan]

That is the general viewpoint. GM is working to remove all the physical barriers between the Ren Cen and downtown, although in my mind, it's still basically suburbs in the sky (but that is better than sprawling outward).

[bobliocatt]

Is anything being done or planned to make Jefferson more pedestrian friendly to help connect the RenCen and Hart Plaza to the rest of downtown?

[Allan]

Pedestrian friendly in Detroit? LOL!!!! We only have the highest number of pedestrian deaths in the country.

Seriously though, I haven't heard of anything. They really do need to do something though. This might be the motor city, but the motor city needs to be pedestrian friendly as well.

[monsoon]

[bobliocatt]

One would have to cross Jefferson (an 8 lane heavy traveled road) and get around the barrier wall that the RenCen once had. BTW, GM bought the RecCen a couple of years ago for its headquarters.

[Allan]

Also, besides the barrier wall and Jefferson, there is no street level retail (all the stores are inside the fortress) and the interior of the RenCen is like a maze.

This just about sums up the whole Jefferson problem right here. It's murder trying to cross that thing!

Photo courtesy of ClevelandNO!

[Guest donaltopablo]

They need to go ahead and build a park or something over that road. That's scary.

[turlough]

that would be a good spot fo that show fear factor. Challange: cross Jefferson and not get killed

[Allan]

that would be a good spot fo that show fear factor. Challange: cross Jefferson and not get killed

LOL. Actually, it would.

They really do need to do SOMETHING. What were they thinking when they "improved" it in the late 1980s? I guess that's just the car culture in Detroit for you. A park over the top of it would be nice...if only there was money to do it. Many of the freeways in Detroit could also stand to be capped. They killed many of the surrounding neighborhoods. Downtown is cut off from the rest of that city by that freeway cage around downtown. The freeway system works very well & is effective at getting you where you need to go, but it doesn't do much good if you actually want to walk somewhere.

[ClevelandNO!]

Also, besides the barrier wall and Jefferson, there is no street level retail (all the stores are inside the fortress) and the interior of the RenCen is like a maze.

This just about sums up the whole Jefferson problem right here. It's murder trying to cross that thing!

come on, at least give me credit for my own photo

[Allan]

come on, at least give me credit for my own photo

Sorry about that. I would've given you credit, but I had no idea who took it. I just found it in my massive collection of pics on my hard drive and posted it.

[monsoon]