Traverse City’s is asking for public feedback on the redesign of East Front Street. They recently launched a new survey asking for feedback.
“That survey is looking at three different design scenarios for east Front Street that all focus on ways to balance cars and pedestrians and bicycles and how it interacts with the neighborhood,” says DDA COO, Harry Burkholder. “Those can still be found on our project website and you could provide feedback on those scenarios.”
Earlier this summer, Traverse City and the DDA started the planning process for East Front Street looking at ways to rebuild the streetscape. They’re also looking at new sewer connections as the current system is aging and, in the past, has overflowed into the Boardman River.
“We want to update the sewer infrastructure through this corridor, but the main impetuses is the lack of streetscaping,” says Burkholder. “If you go through downtown this is one of the last streets that doesn’t have trees and kind of the candy cane light poles. We’re looking at ways that we can enhance the streetscape of this area of downtown make it more pedestrian friendly, more friendly to businesses so they can have cafes out on the sidewalk that type of thing.”
They’d also like to make a connection to Grandview Parkway, which will be under construction in 2023. Hopefully, the same time as East Front Street.
“This gateway is really an entrance into our downtown it’s the welcoming of Downtown Traverse City we want to make it a special place, a unique place, ” says Burkholder. “All the things that we’re talking about do just that- is making a place and a time that we can connect with the river and the neighborhood and downtown that just makes downtown all that much better.”
There is still time left for the public to give feedback on the three design proposals. There have been two public engagement meetings, and the first survey in August, for people to give feedback – with a lot of conversation sparked around design concepts A and B.
DDA hopes to narrow it down to one or two options, have more community input and leave the final decision up to the DDA and Traverse City Commissioners. The design will hopefully be narrowed down by late November or early December. The DDA says they can also blend concepts together, the three options are not the finals.
you can take the survey regarding the three proposed designs for East Front Street.
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