In the last decade, Traverse City, Acme, East Bay and Elmwood have all launched or intensified strategic "placemaking" efforts for areas on or near Grand Traverse Bay.

What up until now has been missing, however, is a cohesive vision among all the governing bodies: how would each handle overlapping boundaries, different zoning regulations, and unique goals and budgets?

Enter the Bayshore Corridor Strategy. Launched in September, the massive, six-month collaborative planning effort is bringing together the planning commissions of all four communities – along with key regional partners – to create a strategy for the 10 mile-long Grand Traverse Bay shore corridor that runs from the intersection of M-72/US-31 in Acme to the intersection of M-22/Cherry Bend Road in Elmwood.

“When the (Grand Traverse) County Planning Department noticed all the planning activity along the corridor...along with the Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT's) plan to reconstruct US-31 in 2015, we felt a responsibility to facilitate all these individual efforts,” says Grand Traverse County Planning Director John Sych, whose department is coordinating the project in partnership with Traverse City-based Strategy Solutions, Inc.

Rather than toil through yet another visioning exercise – “the communities have already done that,” says Sych – the group is creating “an implementation structure” so each community's existing plans (such as Traverse City's Bayfront and Corridor plans, or Elmwood's Greilickville Plan) can be realized, as well as connect to a larger cohesive “brand” for the bay shore.

“The corridor has to have a consistent look and feel in terms of sidewalks, crossings, signage, etc,” says Sych. “When people think of Traverse City, they often think of the bayfront. There is a great opportunity to formally solidify and brand that identity.”

With the coalition now midway through the process, top priorities emerging include making the corridor “safe for pedestrians and bicyclists,” according to Sych, as well as “coordinating zoning standards for new investment."

The group, which says the bayfront now consists of 49 percent development, 45 percent open land/parks and 6 percent transportation, also named key corridor “values” it wants to protect as it considers improvements, including: natural environments, recreation, low-impact development, unique destinations and placemaking entities, and broad access for a diverse array of users and transportation.

Because the corridor encompasses four major highways – significant changes to which often exceed local government jurisdiction – many improvements will have to be made in coordination with federal or state bodies, such as MDOT. But Sych says by working together, “the communities' voices are stronger and agencies respond more favorably.”

To view recommended improvements and the progress of the Bayshore Corridor Strategy, click here.