The addition of designated bike lanes to certain streets downtown – a plan announced sometime last year – is already becoming a reality, led by lanes on both sides of Michigan Avenue on the western edge of Corktown. (I was told that bike lanes have been added on West Fort Street too, but haven't made my way over there yet.)
As of last week, the Corktown stretch began near Slow's BBQ and went west, but I'm assuming the plan is to extend the lanes past the old Tiger Stadium site and Nemo's, over the Lodge, and eventually onto the currently-being-paved stretch of Michigan Avenue that leads to the heart of the downtown at Campus Martius. Time will tell.
As for the existing lanes, I only rode for a few blocks, but it was pretty cool having a designated lane on which to ride. Granted, Michigan Avenue in Corktown doesn't carry a particularly heavy load of automobile traffic, but the bike lane did provide a sense of safety.
I don't remember which roads downtown were included in the original plan, but we'll keep our eyes peeled for newly added lanes. In the meantime, we applaud the fact that another plan in Detroit panned out to become more than just a plan.
