Contact: Doug Christensen, PE, Mead & Hunt
Phone: (866) 441-5214 or E-mail: doug.christensen@meadhunt.com
Website: www.thegrandvision.org
Contact: Phil Callighan, Sr. Account Executive, Knorr Marketing
Phone: (231) 947-9707, ext. 207; Mobile: (231) 342-7590 or E-mail: philc@knorrmarketing.com
Public Workshop Oct. 17 for GT Land-Use, Transportation Study
(Traverse City, Michigan) - A hands-on public visualization and scenario planning workshop for a federally funded Land Use and Transportation Study of the Grand Traverse Region (The Grand Vision: www.thegrandvision.org) will be held Wednesday, October 17 from 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. at the Park Place Hotel in downtown Traverse City. This is the first in a series of workshops to express public values and ideas.
The mission of The Grand Vision, expected to require two years to complete, is to provide a framework the region can use for land and transportation decisions over the next 50 years.
All citizens in the six-county Grand Traverse region are encouraged to attend because the study will set the direction for a 20-year long-range transportation plan that will establish the growth patterns of the Grand Traverse region for the next generation. The Grand Vision project, conducted by a team led by Mead & Hunt, an engineering firm with offices in Lansing and Traverse City, Michigan, will also include reviews of past area studies, values surveys, interviews and implementation strategies.
On October 17th, workshop attendees will be split into small groups, provided with visualization tools and challenged to decide where new growth should and should not occur within the Study Area, the general form that new growth should take, and the type of transportation system needed to serve it.
According to The Grand Vision study team, citizens will help form answers to questions like:
What land should be protected for open space?
Will mass transit work in this area? If so, what kind?
How can problem intersections be helped?
What should the waterfront look like in 20 – 50 years?
Can more affordable housing be located closer to places of working and shopping?
“It is important that all citizens in the six-county Grand Traverse region voice their ideas,” said Doug Christensen, Project Manager from Mead & Hunt. “Since transportation and land use do not stop at county borders, we need to hear from everyone.”
Aiding Mead & Hunt in this project are several nationally-known experts, including Robert Grow, a recognized Visioning expert and John Fregonese of Fregonese Associates, a firm specializing in land-use and transportation planning, and conducting public “scenario planning” workshops.
