ACROSS GRANDVIEW PARKWAY: Reconnecting the Heart of Traverse City to its Bay

PROJECT TEAM: Erik Dayrell Lisa DuRussel Leah Hollstein Sabrina Siebert Lindsay Smith FACULTY ADVISOR: Dr. Larissa Larsen, PhD, Assistant Professor Landscape Architecture PROJECT PARTNERS: David Lossing, Associate Director University of Michigan Office of State Outreach Dr. Lawrence A. Molnar, Director University of Michigan EDA Center for Economic Diversification CLIENT: Traverse City Downtown Development Authority

PROJECT SITE Traverse City, Michigan ’ s Cherry Capital –Location West Grand Traverse Bay Northwestern Lower Peninsula –Population 15,155 in the off-season 500,000 visitors during the National Cherry Festival

TRAVERSE CITY: A YEAR-ROUND DESTINATION –A Midwestern Tourist Attraction Recreation: Summer Sailing & Winter Snowmobiling Proximity to Sleeping Bear Dunes & Lake Michigan Shopping National Cherry Festival, Cherry Republic

GOAL Provide Traverse City with a resource to guide the physical integration of the downtown with the waterfront, in an effort to strengthen disconnected community assets.

OBJECTIVES To understand and document the historic development of Traverse City and its relationship to its waterfront. –Methods: Historic Research, Photo Monitoring, Site Visits, Photograph current conditions, Map downtown use patterns using Lynch, GIS data to map land-use trends

OBJECTIVES To understand the cultural and economic preferences for redevelopment and revitalization of the former power plant site along the West Grand Traverse Bay and the adjoining areas between the waterfront and downtown. –Methods: Focus Groups, Site Visits, Doorknob study, Distribute cameras to citizens, Parking inventory, Traffic Count

OBJECTIVES To understand how the environmental conditions of important areas within the scope of study, such as the Boardman River and the West Grand Traverse Bay waterfront, shape planning and design recommendations for ecological restoration. –Methods: Soil Samples, Water quality testing, Vegetation inventory, Hydrology, Photo monitoring

OBJECTIVES To understand how the current Traverse City Comprehensive Plan and Code of Ordinances both support and prevent integration of the downtown and the waterfront. –Methods: Master Plan analysis, Zoning ordinance analysis, Interviews with Planning Officials,

OBJECTIVES To use the synthesis of research results to formulate policy, planning, and design recommendations which will facilitate an integration of the downtown with the waterfront while enhancing the economic, cultural, and ecological integrity of these areas. –Methods: Synthesis of data collection, case studies, designing and rendering prospective scenarios

DELIVERABLES Urban Character Study Document –Historical Research –Site Context and Analysis

DELIVERABLES Design Guidelines & Standards Document –Recommended locations and designs for pedestrian linkages to the waterfront –Proposed pedestrian circulation routes –Parking strategies & Traffic Calming Techniques –Exploration of Form-based coding as a planning alternative –Development Scenarios for the area between the downtown and the waterfront

TIMELINE

BUDGET

TRAVERSE CITY GROUP PROJECT TEAM, Erik Dayrell Lisa DuRussel Leah Hollstein Sabrina Siebert Lindsay Smith FACULTY ADVISOR: Dr. Larissa Larsen, PhD, Assistant Professor Landscape Architecture