Waterfront design initiative takes shape

Instead of the Boardman River being hidden between alleys and parking lots, the community wants it to be lined with storefronts and patio seating.

By Scott Mills 

A plan to redesign Traverse City’s waterfront, now two years in the making, has reached maturity.

Representatives from JJR and Wade-Trim, two firms hired to merge design concepts with public input, unveiled the result on June 22 at the Hagerty Center.

Changes were suggested for the waterfront extending from M-72 to the senior center, but the plan’s  highlights emphasized the zoo, Open Space, the former power plant site and both banks of the Boardman between Union and Cass streets.

Mary Jukuri of JJR called this area the “central park” of Traverse City.

Input from the community, she said, told them that Traverse City residents want this area to be unified into a walkable, cohesive public space.

The first step towards such a space, Jukuri said, will be to make Grandview Parkway less of a barrier to people walking from downtown to the waterfront and vice versa. One proposed solution – seemingly far-fetched, but apparently well-loved – is for the road to be converted into an underground tunnel between Union and Park streets.

“We still think it's an idea that merits serious consideration,” said Jukuri.

Other solutions include installing additional at-grade crosswalks along the parkway, constructing a land bridge, or widening the existing pedestrian tunnel at Cass Street.

Next, the zoo site would be opened up and many of the buildings would be removed, and the area along the river would be improved through infill development behind the buildings on Front Street and the removal of the public parking lots lining the river.

“To put surface parking lots along the river just does not make sense,” Jukuri said.

Other popular proposals in the plan include an outdoor amphitheater at the zoo site, a fishing pier near the marina, a portion of the river designed and designated for whitewater kayaking, and an electric shuttle bus serving the downtown area.

To create the plan, the consultants compiled two years of public recommendations given about three waterfront designs proposed by students of Michigan State and the University of Michigan.

The next step is figuring out how to pay for it.

“If we went and implemented everything that was presented tonight it would be a costly venture,” said Doug Denison, a JJR consultant. “The next step is to develop a ‘schematic’ plan, because that allows you to go out and get money.”

Denison said the city will need to seek funding from public and private sources, including nonprofit organizations. He cited the Kresge and W.K. Kellogg foundations as possible supporters.

Pat Doher, a JJR consultant, stressed that the plan can still be changed.

“It's a living document, it doesn't stop here,” he said, “We have to make sure this plan is coordinated with what the community has in mind.”

A detailed description is available on the city's website, at www.ci.traverse-city.mi.us/departments/planning/Waterfrontplan/final062107.pdf

Scott Mills is a senior at University of Michigan majoring in linguistics.