Expert Walks, Weighs In on Eighth Street

“Wow, these cars are really moving fast.”

Robert Gibbs – one of the country's foremost experts on urban retail planning and development – is standing on the sidewalk of Eighth Street Tuesday afternoon, watching traffic whiz by on the four-lane road. Nearby, a group of more than 25 Traverse City elected officials, downtown property owners and real estate and development professionals are huddled against the wind, invited to accompany Gibbs on a walking tour of the busy corridor between Woodmere Avenue and Union Street.

“It's an odd street alignment here, isn't it?” Gibbs says as the group approaches the intersection of Eighth and Woodmere. The visiting urban planner is taking the tour to compile an initial assessment of the corridor – an outing planned in conjunction with his Tuesday night presentation on corridor development at the TC Planning Commission, which has been tasked with improving key city streets following the city's October adoption of a Corridors Master Plan.

On the tour, Gibbs listens respectfully as City Commissioner Jim Carruthers describes a proposed roundabout for the Eighth and Woodmere intersection. “Roundabouts can help slow traffic considerably,” he agrees, when asked about the merits of the proposal. “But,” he cautions, “they can sometimes hurt walkability.”

Walkability is an important keyword for Gibbs, who as managing principal of Gibbs Planning Group in Birmingham, Mich., has contributed to more than 400 master plans across the U.S., including those of Houston, Detroit, Disney and Charleston. “Walkable communities command a higher rent for retail, higher rent for residential and higher property sale prices,” Gibbs tells The Ticker. “Traverse City is heading in that direction. It's just about finding a balance between walkability and drivability.”

On his 90-minute tour of Eighth, Gibbs chats with city management about the history and value of various downtown properties, stopping frequently to poll the group on their preferred uses for various sites or their estimates of local rental rates. He expresses admiration for the Depot Neighborhood and is particularly impressed with Old Town, calling Lake Avenue “as good as it gets for streets” and praising the mix of neighborhood businesses like Maxbauers and Brady's Bar with modern developments like Hagerty Insurance and the Ivy Terrace Condominiums.

“Most cities would give their right arm to have an old town like this,” Gibbs tells City Planning Director Russ Soyring as he stops to photograph the Old Town Parking Deck. “The way you did this deck is brilliant. It's beautiful.” Later, he calls Randy's Old Towne Service “one of the coolest buildings in the city” and predicts that the property and others downtown like it – such as Thirlby Automotive – will soon draw lucrative deals from developers hoping to capitalize on their prime locations.

Not of all of Gibbs' impressions are rosy. The planner says the Eighth Street corridor suffers from several key transportation challenges, including a lack of on-site parking and reduced multi-use opportunities. “The traffic is going too fast,” he continues, “and the sidewalks are too narrow.” On the Eighth Street bridge near Boardman Avenue, Gibbs points out that it's “pretty intimidating (for pedestrians)” being squashed between the road and the river, though City Engineer Tim Lodge says the city plans to address that issue when it renovates the bridge next year.

Overall, Gibbs' assessment of Eighth is that the corridor “has more strengths than weaknesses,” with potential in particular to redevelop its eastern stretch. “If you could find a way to mimic Old Town on the whole street, you have the potential for this to become a major district,” he says. “Once you have a vibrant corridor, that will spill over and have a positive effect on the adjacent neighborhoods as well.”