Mackinac Bridge Walk by Maggie
The Cheboygan Tribune reports that an estimated 57,000 people walked (or ran, wheeled or swam) the Mackinac Bridge. That's short of the 85,000 that traversed the span in 1992, but still a whole lot of folks! Regarding those swimmers, the Freep says that:
As crowds gathered before dawn near the tollbooths to begin the trek, 54 people in wetsuits plunged into the water nearby. Long-distance swimmer Jim Dreyer organized their participation as a fundraiser for Mentor Michigan, a program led by Granholm and her husband, Dan Mulhern. Fifty made it across, while four climbed aboard boats without finishing.
The LSJ adds a nice photo from John Russell, but on the whole, it seems like Michigan's papers spent the day barbecuing. Thank goodness for Flickr.
20 Comments
I don't understand how only
57,000 walked the bridge when
last year I read on the internet that 65,000 walked.
I was there both years and this year FAR more walked than any year in the past.
We headed north over the bridge at 3:45 and two people
were just starting to walk.
At 5:03 two people were close to finishing. 57,000
could NOT be correct. More
like 100,000 I would think.
I've never seen anything like the crowd there and I have been going there for many, many years.
I'm not good at guessing crowd sizes, but I can tell time. My wife and I got in line for the buses at 9:30 AM (after we walked the bridge)and didn't get on a bus until 1:30 PM. We've never waited longer than approximately 1/2 hour before this. I haven't seen anything on the web explaining why the lines were so long. Anyone out there with any information? Not enough buses? Record crowds? Orgazinational problems? All of the above?
THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT, JUST AN ABSOLUTE GORGEOUS DAY FOR THE BRIDGE WALK. MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE WALKED THE BRIDGE FOR 12 YEARS NOW AND WE PLAN ON WALKING(OR WHEELCHAIRING) IT EVERY YEAR FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES. WE LOVE THE MIGHTY MAC! BUT, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE WALK? OR SHUTTLES IS WHAT I SHOULD SAY. WE HEARD THAT 25 OF THE BUSSES DIDN'T SHOW UP. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THAT IS TRUE? AND WHY? WE WERE KIND OF WORRIED IF WE WOULD GET BACK TO OUR CAR IN ST. IGNACE. THEN WE HEARD THAT THE FERRIES WERE TAKING PEOPLE BACK TO ST. IGNACE, WHICH WE WERE READY TO DO IF NEEDED. BUT WE ALSO HEARD THAT THEY WERE CHARGING THE USUAL $21 PER PERSON FOR THE FERRY RIDE. DON'T YOU THINK THEY COULD LOWER THE PRICE FOR JUST THE PEOPLE GOING ONLY TO ST. IGNACE, NOT TO THE ISLAND? IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE OF THEIR UNORGANIZATION. ANYWAY WE DID CATCH A BUS BACK, BUT NOT UNTIL AFTER 3:00 WHEN THE LINE FINALLY WENT DOWN. WE FELT SO BAD FOR THE PEOPLE THAT DID WAIT IN LINE FOR 3 OR 4 HOURS. THIS WON'T DISCOURAGE US THOUGH, BECAUSE THE WALK IS ALWAYS SO AWESOME! IT'S THE PERFECT WAY TO END THE SUMMER.
We just came home today after walking the
the "Big Mac" again. My husband has walked it
every year except the first which makes this
year his 49th and I finished my 40th. We also
have a son who walked his 48th. I would like to
know if anyone has walked it every year or what is the longest number of years any of you have
walked. It was one of the largest crowds this year!!
I have to agree with the first post.
I have only walked the bridge once before but the amount of people who walked this year far exceded my 2000 walk. People were done walking at 11:00 A.M. then. This year we were heading across the bridge North bound at 3:30 and people were still walking across.
Great day for walking the bridge. I hope to do it every year from now on!
This was my 25th year walking the bridge. I really know why it seemed like a record crowd. The Bus wait fiasco delayed alot of people from getting across the bridge to walk.
We heard that 25 buses didn't show up, then we heard 30 didn't show up.
If the buses weren't going to show up the why didn't someone plan for that and get other buses? which I believed did happen later,I also saw that the bus route coming out of Mackinaw City really needs to be a dedicated route where buses flow freely insted of the massive traffic jam we were in.If there was a protest from the school districts that failed to send buses they realy picked a bad time to do that.There were alot of folks that were walking for the first time and came from other states. All I have to say is "another wonderful Black eye for our state.
"Last one out turn out the lights please".
PS...See ya next year
We walked for the first time with some friends who talked us into going with them because they had done it before and thought that the organization was fantastic. They said that they had never waited more than a half hour. Well, we waited close to 4 hours this year! That certainly put a damper on the whole walk. We were tired before we got started! It was wonderful to have walked across the Mighty Mac but I am sure that we will not attempt it again due to the long wait. Sure hope that they get the kinks worked out for future walkers. It would be interesting to know what caused the problem this year. It sure seemed like there were a lot more than 57,000 people there.
We have a cottage at Higgins Lake and this was our 15th walk since sometime in the late 80's. We waited in the bus line for 3 hours with our 4 grandchildren. While that was a disappointment, God gave us perfect weather and we enjoyed the opportunity to walk the Bridge on it's 50th Birthday.
Rick & Mary Lynn
Shelby Township, Michigan
An estimated 57,000??? Whose doing the calculating and how! I can't believe this wasn't a record year. I've participated in this walk before and it wasn't nearly as crowded. Other walkers and local employees were also commenting on how there seemed to be a record amount of people this year. 57,000 couldn't possibly be accurate.
This was a family event for us, our first walk across the Mighty Mac. We stayed on the south side and took the school bus across. Got up early 4A.M. and was on a bus by 5A.M. The only way to do it, we think. Surely, there were more than 57,000 walkers. There were people lining the streets of Mackinac City still at 4:00P.M. trying to get on a bus to go acrossto the north end. 57,000! HA! But I must say it was an awesome experience and we have decided to make this an annual event for our family from Indiana.
P.S. We walked the bridge in less then 2 hours and didn't feel crowded or rushed. Being there when the walk starts is the best way to do it. Also staying in lodging in Mackinac City helped. We just walked back to our motel, no waiting on a bus for hours. Many thanks to the people who gave us good advice!!
This was our first walk and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience....then the line to get a bus back dampened that.I do believe the 57,000 estimate fell short. If the event was organized the same this year as in the past that would tell me there was in fact more walkers.
We will walk again.
Had a great time for the walk. I do agree that there had to be more than 57,000 people that walked it. After we got done,we spent time down on the beach watching the people walking our way. Around 5:00PM we saw the last people walking towards the finish. We walked over to the finish area and talked to four people who had just finished. One lady showed us her certificate and it had a number in the 43,000 range. That group was one the last ones and yet they say 57,000 finished.There had to be more than that!
My husband and I have been walking the bridge for the last 6 or 7 years and we love it!! There did seem to be more than 57,000 people this year. Last year we were in St. Ignace around 5:30-6:00 am and got across quickly. This year we got on the bridge around 8am and was off by 10. But downtown was packed after!! We were going to eat at the Pancake Chef restaraunt but there was a two hour wait. But I love it every year. And the lines to get on the bus were all the way past the ferry docks. See ya next year.
Here's some photos from the Governor's bridge run:
http://granholmcherry2006.com/blog/?p=174
We drove up from Hamilton,Ontario,Canada for the historic 50th anniversary walk. We slept in our van in the rest area by the bridge in St. Ignace because there were no rooms for 20 miles. We really enjoyed our 2 hour walk. The experience was well worth the 3 1/2 hour wait in line to get on a bus back to our van. We think the problem was that there should have been 2 lines for buses- those who were going to walk in one line and those who were returning to their cars in another. The bus driver was terrific! She had been driving since about 5 a.m. and she was still very nice to everyone at 2:30 p.m. when we got on her bus. We also think there had to be a lot more people there than 57,000. We'd like to come back with our grandchildren some year. The experience is well worth the long trip. Thanks to the "Authorities" who made sure all who wanted to walk the bridge could. It was a banner crowd, with lots of delays and long lines, but most people seemed to take it all in stride. Hot and cranky, but thankful for the amazing experience. THANK YOU. We'll see you again.
This was my 21 time across. Just by memory it seemed that there were more people in the late 80's and early 90's. I also remember seeing the cards in the side windows of the buses with much higher numbers, into the 130s and low 140s. I was sure there used to be more buses. The last few years I had heard that smaller crowds left buses empty or only doing one run. Maybe under the current economic conditions the crowd was not expected. In my 20 plus years of walking the bridge I have always experienced it as well organized. 1992 was much slower in the Bridge Authority's compound because we all had to go through metal dectors. That was a presidential election year and George and Barbara Bush walked the bridge. A few years later the walk did not begin until 9 A.M. A wind advisory was in effect and it was determined to be unsafe to begin the walk. I have always found the event planned wonderfully, but the unexpected can and does happen.
To see last year's Mackinac Bridge Walk, watch the first interview on this week's episode of Perils For Pedestrians.
Tuesday, October 11, The Universityhouse Channel will show Episode 131 of "Perils For Pedestrians".
Contents of Episode 131 (2007):
--We travel to Mackinaw City, Michigan, for the annual Labor Day bridge walk.
--We talk with an advocate in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
--We visit a neighborhood that needs sidewalks in Knoxville, Tennessee;
--Tuscaloosa, Alabama, needs more crosswalks.
--We look at a dangerous intersection in Grand Island, Nebraska.
--We talk about closing the gaps in the East Coast Greenway.
--We look at the role of the pedestrian and bicycle professional.
DISH Network Channel 9411 -- The Universityhouse Channel
Tuesday -- 9:30 PM Eastern, 6:30 Pacific
Episode 131 is also available on Google Video:
http://video.google.com/videop.....5047497892
Note: Public access cable channels are showing different episodes than DISH Network.
Thank you.
Must see these amazing pictures brought to life,taken during the construction of the Mackinac Bridge, by an iron worker, full brillant color views. First release.
Posters are avalaible http://www.mmm3d.com
this was my first walking of the mackinaw bridge and it was the best expierence of my life. it gave me hope and most important pride.
thank you everyone
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