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June 14, 2005Public key in downtown, bay plan'Your bay, your say' is new sloganByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - While rolling down Grandview Parkway, look to the left and to the right - the city wants its new planning motto to apply either way: "Your bay, your say." "We want you to be involved in shaping the future ... ," Mayor Linda Smyka said. The city intends to work with students from two universities to develop a "conceptual plan" for the waterfront and downtown. Residents will have their first chance to tell planners what they wish for two of the city's key attractions at a 7 p.m. June 23 meeting at the Hagerty Center. Will people speak out? "Absolutely," said Mike Quirk, a city resident who spent Monday putting his boat in his slip at the Duncan L. Clinch Marina. Quirk cited demolition of the power plant as the "biggest improvement" to the bayfront and shared an idea for the space: "I'd like it to be open." Students from Michigan State University will draw designs for the West Bay waterfront - a more than two-mile stretch from the Traverse City Senior Center to M-72. University of Michigan students will concentrate on surveying merchants, property owners, tourists and residents to find out what plans work best for the downtown area north of Front Street. Both groups will focus on improving access from the downtown to the waterfront. Carolyn Wentzloff of Muskegon relaxed at the bayfront Monday with two friends. Wentzloff, formerly of Grand Haven, has a suggestion to improve Traverse City's bayfront. "I was there (in Grand Haven) when they put in the boardwalk ... ," she said. "Before that happened our town was OK." Post boardwalk, Grand Haven became a happening hangout, she said. "A boardwalk here ... , you guys would be in seventh heaven," Wentzloff said. Rotary Charities of Traverse City awarded a $25,000 grant to the city to hire professionals to design plans based on students' findings. The city is seeking other grants to fund planning and any later construction costs. Students will gather more public input in September and November that will be incorporated into a variety of designs for the bayfront and downtown. Drawings will be presented for the first time in November. By March, the planners and the city will present a report that includes the best of the ideas with the most community backing.
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