MOBILITY ACTION PLAN

A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR A NON-MOTORIZED NETWORK

In 2012, the Traverse City Planning Commission established an Active Transportation Subcommittee to gather data on how residents travel around town. This group sought to further the City’s vision of becoming a walkable, bikeable community. Over the past decade, Traverse City has continued pursuing this vision by expanding its non-motorized infrastructure and building partnerships with local stakeholders invested in non-motorized transportation.

With continued demand for increased transportation options, pressures on the transportation network experienced through construction activities, along with recent advances in mobility offerings such as scooters and e-bikes, the City has partnered with Progressive AE and Toole Design Group to develop the Mobility Action Plan. While building on the City’s past successes, this plan will represent the City’s first-ever comprehensive plan towards building a non-motorized network. 

How will the Mobility Action Plan process align with the Master Plan process?  

As the City undertakes the updating of the Master Planning process, the Mobility Action Plan is also developing. The processes are being aligned to leverage community awareness and engagement. The City will co-host the initial engagement activities occurring in September and October 2022 (meaning, the survey that you take in September will include questions that apply to both processes—a win win!).

The Master Plan will heavily rely on engagement to develop a dynamic long-term planning document that provides a conceptual layout to guide future growth and development. Master planning is about making the connection between buildings, social settings, and their surrounding environments.

The Mobility Action Plan is reliant on community feedback and will influence future projects such as street design, traffic circulation, cycling infrastructure, and other placemaking efforts far into the future.

We encourage you to be a part of shaping our future!

Mobility Action Plan Leadership Team

The Mobility Action Plan Leadership Team will host public meetings on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 4 pm at the Governmental Center.

Meeting Schedule

The City Commission's 2022 adopted their Goals and Objectives identified access and mobility as a strategic priority with a goal to invest in multi-modal mobility strategies and existing and future infrastructure so that individuals of all ages, abilities and income have a network of complete, barrier free, safe, year round access to our community’s amenities and basic needs. 

A RIVER TRANSFORMED

Save the date! Wednesday, September 7 from 9 am to 6:30 pm, the DDA will host an all-day Open House to present three conceptual design plans for the Boardman/Ottaway Riverfront, behind the 100 and 200 blocks of Front Street (from Union Street down to Park Street). The conceptual designs were derived in part from the July 13th Open House.

In 2022, the Lower Boardman River Unified Plan was adopted and provides a framework for significant environmental and placemaking improvements. Improving the interface with the river in the heart of Downtown was a top priority identified in the Unified Plan. The Open House will be an opportunity to view the conceptual design and provide input.

EXPLORE THE ZONING MAP

Zoning refers to municipal or local laws or regulations that govern how real property can and cannot be used in certain geographic areas.

A zoning map shows how the community is divided into different use districts or zones. Zoning districts common to most ordinances include residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural. 

The City has an easy to use interactive, and pdf, zoning map that can serve as a tool to aid you in researching zoning details for parcels located within City. The zoning map shows precise boundaries for each district. As you navigate the interactive map, you will also find links to relevant zoning regulations for each parcel.

HABITAT RESTORATION

BROWN BRIDGE QUIET AREA

Along the banks of the Boardman/Ottaway River at the City of Traverse City’s Brown Bridge Quiet Area, students from the Au Sable Institute recently partnered with the Grand Traverse Conservation District to plant native trees, grasses and wildflowers in the bottomlands of the former impoundment. Many of the seeds were grown from seed collected on site!

Through two different programs of the Au Sable Institute, nearly 100 local youth and over 30 college students (from across the country!) have participated in educational service projects at the Quiet Area to gain hands on experience in habitat restoration. In addition to getting themselves a little dirty, the students toured the property with professors and Conservation District staff to learn more about the watershed, river ecology, the benefits of dam removals and more.

Paul Wiemerslage, Environmental Education Coordinator for the Au Sable Institute, says he tried to link “the larger impacts of urbanization on surrounding rural communities through the historical impacts of dams." Wiemerslage and the Conservation District initiated this partnership last fall, when local students collected seed and took soil samples from the restoration site. Many of these students were fortunate enough to return this season to see the project through and get the plants in the ground.

Reb Ratliff, Parkland Steward for the Grand Traverse Conservation District, says “since the in-stream wood habitat project that was performed last summer, we’ve been able to use grants and partnerships such as these to help revegetate this site in meaningful ways.”

The Grand Traverse Conservation District works under contract for the City of Traverse City to help manage the Brown Bridge Quiet Area.

IN THE COMMUNITY

The City's Planning Intern, Jessie Williams with City Planner, Shawn Winter, hosting a pop up event to build awareness for the City's Master Plan Update project. Visit with City staff and Leadership Team Members at a pop up when you are out and about this fall!