This week the city will be voting on the Division St plan outlined here last week, and hearing about the downtown part of Winter Wonderfest, coming soon.  We also are putting out the word about Traverse City Tomorrow – next Monday night at the Opera House.  The Question of the Week is about mergers and partnerships with “big-city” organizations – let us know your thoughts by clicking on the Question of the Week and leaving a comment.

 Division St.  Last week we outlined a possible plan for making Division St easier to cross, more walkable and bikeable, and less of a burden on adjacent neighborhoods.  (see the post below this one for more info on that, and also this Record Eagle story: http://www.record-eagle.com/local/local_story_011071200.html.) 

This Monday night the city commission will vote on whether to start that plan.  The members of the steering committee would include advocates from the adjacent neighborhoods, TART, Munson, the Commons, TBAISD, the Elks Lodge, the Rec Authority, city reps, and MDOT.  Discussions are underway with a nationally-recognized expert in complete street design – I hope to let you know who that person is in a few days. 

Based on feedback to date, it looks like three possibilities need to be explored: 

(1) A three-lane “road diet” design with a center turn lane and bike lanes.  There is debate right now about whether this design could work at the evening peak hour traffic volumes on Division St.  Based on data so far, the jury is still out on that.

(2) A four-lane divided Woodmere-style concept with a treed median, turn lanes, bike lanes, and enhanced pedestrian crossings.  This is the option that would require some parkland on the west side.  A key for this option is going to be that it not increase traffic speed or capacity.  This should rule out double-left turn lanes at Division and Grandview Parkway, for example.  Based on the history of these kinds of proposals in Traverse City – and the feedback so far - for the parkland idea to pass a city vote, the priority in using extra space has got to be slower traffic, more modes of safe and convenient travel, and safer crossing.  Not extra vehicle capacity. 

(3) A “calmed” four-lane streetscape in the existing footprint.  This idea has come from some neighborhood advocates.  The idea is to design a calmer, slower street in the existing footprint.  This again would provide for safer crossing and for less noise and burden on the neighborhoods, but would probably be less visually appealing than the Woodmere concept and could not incorporate bike lanes. 

Other important questions in the design process will be how to maintain ambulance access to Munson, and improve vehicle access to the Commons. 

The steering group will hold a public meeting to kick off this process.  Watch this site for more details.  There are also some good comments on www.facebook.com/planfortc. 

Winter Wonderfest.  Monday night the city commission will be hearing about an improved and expanded Winter Wonderfest in downtown Traverse City on Saturday, February 13.  Front St will be closed for events including a monster dog pull, “Soup’r Bowl” cooking competition, evening beer tent, snow and ice sculptures, and live entertainment.  You can see the whole schedule here:  http://www.ci.traverse-city.mi.us/agendas/packet20100118.pdf, at pages 67-68 of the pdf.

Traverse City Tomorrow.   What do you want Traverse City to be?  What aspects of our community should we preserve? Get rid of? Make better?  As we head into 2010, the City of Traverse City invites you to take part in Traverse City Tomorrow, a special interactive event Monday January 25th @ 7 pm at the City Opera House, featuring local leaders and hometown heroes sharing ideas for the future of Traverse City.  

Moderated by Mary Grover of the League of Women Voters, panel guests will discuss local success stories and take questions and suggestions from the audience on how we can make Traverse City “more like Traverse City.”  The panel is (in alphabetical order):  Derek Bailey – Tribal Chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; Don Coe – Managing Partner of Black Star Farms; Michael Moore - Oscar-Winning Filmmaker and Founder of the Traverse City Film Festival; Ed Ness - President and CEO of Munson Medical Center; Tim Nelson - President of Northwestern Michigan College; and Marsha Smith – Executive Director of Rotary Charities

The city commission and leaders of local governments throughout the region will be in attendance. Ideas and suggestions generated by the discussion will be used to drive priority-setting in our community over the next year. In addition to live audience participation, there will be numerous opportunities for audience members to leave their comments and feedback at the event.

Refreshments will be served at a free reception with panel guests immediately following the event.  More details will be placed on this site and on www.facebook.com/planfortc this Wednesday night, after we meet with the panel that afternoon.