The next phase of the Nakwema Trailway project – a planned 45-mile nonmotorized trailway connecting Traverse City to Charlevoix – is poised to move forward, with Acme Township trustees set to review construction bids Tuesday for the Deepwater Connector Trail. Trail work could take place yet this year, connecting Bayside Park, the recently completed Acme Connector Trail, and Acme Road. In other Acme Township news, the Grand Traverse County Road Commission Thursday denied a petition to abandon Arnold Road after residents argued it provided a crucial access point to state land and trails.

Deepwater Connector Trail
TART Trails is closing on its $465,000 fundraising goal to complete the Deepwater Connector Trail, with a crowdfunding campaign showing nearly $419,000 raised as of late Tuesday. A combination of public and private funds will cover the project, with engineering already completed and township trustees expected to review construction bids next Tuesday.

The latest section of the Nakwema Trailway, the Deepwater Connector Trail will “begin at the southernmost Nakwema trailhead at Bayside Park, follow a scenic stretch of Acme Creek, and provide non-motorized access to the Deepwater Point Natural Area via shared roadway,” according to TART Trails. “In addition, the Deepwater Connector will create a key connection for neighborhoods and businesses to our 100-mile regional trail network.” Residents in Peaceful Valley, Deepwater Point, and Old Acme will be all connected to the trail system.

In addition to funding, TART Trails is finalizing easement agreements along the new stretch of trail. The different project elements appear to be aligning to allow work to begin soon. “All of the contractors who submitted bids indicated that construction could be completed yet this fall,” says TART Trails Director of Strategic Engagement Brian Beauchamp. “It’s awesome to see. People are excited for this small but mighty connector for Deepwater Point.”

The project comes two years after the two-mile Acme Connector was built, connecting the TART Trail terminus at Bunker Hill Road to the intersection of M-72 and US-31 in Acme, with another segment running east toward the Acme Meijer store and Grand Traverse Town Center. Beauchamp says once the Deepwater Connector is completed, attention will next turn to the Maple Bay-to-Elk Rapids section of the Nakwema Trailway. Corridor work isn’t only progressing north in a linear fashion; trail planning is also simultaneously underway for segments in Torch Lake Township, Charlevoix, and Fisherman’s Island State Park. “There are a lot of irons in the fire up and down that entire corridor,” Beauchamp says. “We’re getting more and more community involvement.”

Arnold Road
The Grand Traverse County Road Commission (GTCRC) denied a petition Thursday from High Pointe Golf Club, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and a residential property owner to abandon the seasonal portion of Arnold Road in Acme Township. The affected road segment begins at Crisp Road and extends approximately 2,600 feet south to the end of the right of way.

The lack of turnaround space at the road end means vehicles are crossing onto High Pointe property to turn around, according to the petition. The petition also states the DNR no longer wishes to provide access to state land via Arnold Road since it’s not conducive for logging operations due to the terrain. The road is “sandy and erodes during storm events, causing sand to wash onto the intersection of Crisp and Arnold,” the petition states. “The intent is to restore the road bed area and include necessary berming to stop this from happening.”

Though the petition states that access to state land is available at “more manageable locations such as at the end of Bates Road and along Moore Road,” nearby residents vigorously opposed the abandonment request, saying Arnold Road is their primary – sometimes only – access point to hundreds of acres of state property and trails for hiking and horse riding. Some residents said they’ve used Arnold Road for decades without issue. “All the times I walked, hiked, rode my horse, I've never seen a problem with anybody between the golfers and the public using it,” said resident Kim Elliott, who said he’s used Arnold Road for 40 years.

Equestrian and resident Eleanor Hellman says she uses the road multiple times a week, and that the next nearest access point to state lands would be a 30-40 minute walk instead of 12 minutes using Arnold Road. Closing it would be a “major loss,” she said. Resident Stephen Raddatz said he wouldn’t be opposed to the petition if Arnold Road ended at private property. But “it's state land,” he said. “That means it's owned by all of us.”

High Pointe representative Scott Jozwiak said the golf course was open to a solution that could include closing the road to vehicle access but providing a permanent easement for pedestrians and equestrians. “We have heard everybody...and I feel like we can get to a resolution that gets everybody more of what they want,” he said. However, because that easement language wasn’t before road commissioners Thursday – and because they were under a legal deadline to deny or approve the petition – the board voted unanimously to deny it. Road Commissioner Haider Kazim noted that in order to approve a road abandonment, GTCRC must find such a move is “in the interest of the public, not the abutting land owners.”

Road commissioners said High Pointe and the DNR could submit another petition in the future with the easement language included for reconsideration.