Traverse City residents will soon have an opportunity to help shape two high-profile projects: improvements to the Division Street corridor, and a proposed new pier on West Grand Traverse Bay in downtown TC.

Division Street
Voter approval in 2012 for the transfer of up to 30 feet of property along Division Street to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) cleared the way for the agency to begin studying potential design improvements to the congested corridor.

Using $500,000 awarded last December from the state's Roads and Risks Reserve Fund, MDOT is preparing to kick off a public planning process that will identify traffic solutions for 1.2 miles of Division stretching from Fourteenth Street to Grandview Parkway. The Planning and Environmental Linkages process (PEL), as it's called, “helps the community consider environmental, historical, cultural and feasibility issues early in the transportation planning process.”

Gary Niemi, an MDOT development engineer, says the first public open house and work session scheduled for October 28 from 4-7pm at the Governmental Center is intended “specifically to get local input...and hear from local residents and businesses about what they'd like to see happen (on Division).”

“Frankly, anything that will happen along that road will have a high dollar figure attached to it,” says Niemi. “These public meetings will help us eventually come up with one or two preferred scenarios...which can be used in securing public-private partnerships and construction funding in the future.”

Raymond Minervini of the The Minervini Group, redeveloper of the Village at Grand Traverse Commons near Division and Eleventh Streets, plans to attend the upcoming sessions. He says many neighborhood residents and businesses want to see Division become “safer for multiple users – not just cars,” as well as a “better fit for the context of the neighborhood.”

“It's about creating an environment where traffic speeds are reduced...and the east and west sides of the street are better united,” says Minervini. “There are way too many accidents right now. It's not just a Commons issue; it's a neighborhood and city issue.”

Traverse City Pier
A proposed 550-foot public pier at the mouth of the Boardman River on West Grand Traverse Bay has already generated significant community discussion and commissioner feedback. On October 22, consulting firm SmithGroupJJR will lead the first of several planned public workshops to consolidate input on the pier's location, aesthetics, impact and costs into a cohesive vision for the project – a process that will include determining whether it's even feasible to proceed with building the pier.

The design study is funded by a $232,000 grant from the Great Lakes Fisheries Trust. At next Wednesday's workshop – scheduled for 7pm at the Governmental Center – participants will be asked to rank and vote on potential amenities and activities connected to the pier, as well as location considerations. A second workshop in November will develop specific design ideas for the structure.

According to a statement from Traverse City Planning and Engineering Assistant Missy Luick, “the idea of a public pier developed out of community-based planning efforts" including the Your Bay, Your Say Waterfront Plan and TC Bayfront 2010 Plan. “The potential pier is intended to provide public access into the bay, fishing opportunities...learning opportunities...and a strong connection to the downtown," says Luick. Should residents approve of a pier concept, the study's grant will fund the development of final design plans.