Zug Island Road Bridge

Thanks to you Nathan and Dana and Kay for responding.I failed to mention that while out on the water you do have to watch out for other boat traffic.As long as you are not on their property and remain in the water you can actually take pictures of this bridge and the other lift bridge which looks to be closed from what i have seen on satellite and also looking at it on street view.I do know from boating what rules do apply while out on the water.As for the security guards which i call rent-a-cops i worked in a refinery which had private security and know what they can and can't do.

Just to clarify for those not familiar, we are talking (around Zug Island) about coast guard regulated commercial waterways. These still allow access in the way smaller waterways might (such as for recreational use), but there also are these restricted zones that may override high water level etc. You would still be able to pass thru, but may not be able to utilize every square inch of the water (such as to get certain angles of photos). Certain number of feet may be required to be kept between your vessel and another vessel for a dock for example. I do not claim to be an expert on this stuff, but I have been on commercial waters with someone who as their job works on commercial barges. He told me those were things to watch out for.

Also including the NOAA Chart for this area.

Riparian rights balance the rights of citizens free access to waterways and property owners rights. Vary by state and watercourse. GENERALLY access to high water mark of NAVIGABLE waterways allowed. Michigan varies by whether lake or river. Some counties in Texas extended property to center of watercourses specifically to prevent ingress. In general courtesy is your best friend. If asked to leave , leave. Air space another thing now that camera drones are available. FAA controls 500 feet and up, 83 to 500 feet a grey area. Up to 83 feet or fair use height is property owners.

I would assume that a clear pathway for the public must be maintained on the waterway. The restrictions would (again in theory) control how close you come to the shoreline or to docked boats. While it may be true that they can't force you to delete your photos, because in that scenario you are on the privately owned island, they could call the police and have you arrested for criminal trespass. US Steel is pretty hardcore with their security. I have, near other US Steel properties, been unlawfully told I cannot take photos from a public sidewalk. Unlike taking photos from private property, they have no right whatsoever to restrict photography from a public sidewalk.

Nathan,i read your post on taking pictures from boats dated 8-31-2013.As far as i know no waterway is owned by private companies which means as long as you are not a threat to the environment you can take pictures of whatever you want.Being that this is a lift bridge also lends credence to the fact that this is a shipping lane for boat traffic.As for the rent-a-cops they cannot force you to delete any pictures without a court order being that any cameras are your private property.This also makes me wonder why they have rent-a-cops.

Nicely done.

This is my n-scale replica of the 141 bridge.

Changing the colour of an image doesn't negate copyright: http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newsthumbs/newsthumbs_807.htm

Photo 6 is a work of Ron Piskor's and therefore the copyright belongs to him and BoatNerd.com.

WARNING: Zug Island is one of the most heavily guarded pieces of property in the entire state of Michigan. It contains steel mills and such, and is guarded by ARMED security patrols. Supposedly, this particular bridge can be photographed from the land side which may be public road. The bridge itself is private, as are ALL Zug Island Bridges. At minimum, anyone found on these bridges can be expected to be approached by a team of armed security guards who will approach you with hands on their guns and will have you erase pictures from your camera in front of them.

Look at the signs visible in the Street View, as evidence of security.

If anyone has photos of this bridge or any of the other older Zug Island bridges, I would be interested in including them on my website at HistoricBridges.org. The Zug Island bridges are the few historic bridges I have don't have on my website, due to the security.

I don't know, but it may be possible to photo Zug Island bridges from a boat, provided that the canal is not a "Security Zone." The signs seem to indicate that as long as you stay away from docked boats, you are OK.