Two long-discussed city projects – repairing the West End Beach parking lot and installing new sidewalk network on Eastern Avenue to improve student safety – will be completed this year after city commissioners approved contracts for them Monday.

Commissioners voted 6-1 - with Commissioner Tim Werner opposed - to award a not-to-exceed contract of $387,788.78 to Popp Excavating to repair the West End Beach parking lot and complete site preparation work for new restrooms planned to be installed on the property this year. The parking lot was damaged by high water in 2020, with half the lot remaining unusable since then. The city subsequently received a state grant for just over $200,000 to replace the West End Beach bathhouse with a new ADA-accessible restroom and to install another restroom off the RB parking lot next to the volleyball courts. The existing bathhouse was demolished and removed from the site last fall. The new bathrooms will be arriving in Traverse City soon for installation, according to Parks and Recreation Superintendent Michelle Hunt.

Under the contract approved by commissioners Monday, the number of parking spaces in the beach lot will be reduced from 25 to 14, including four ADA spaces (that’s compared to one ADA space that existed pre-damage). Commissioners previously said they wanted to see less pavement and more park space, as well as increased handicap accessibility. Non-disabled beachgoers can utilize the dropoff/loading zone to drop off beach gear or family members, then park across the road and walk over if needed, commissioners said. The proposed landscaping will use all native plants and natural stone, with no permanent plastics used. New bike racks are also planned to be installed. In his opposition to the contract, Werner criticized the dunegrass planned to be used at the site as well his desire to have more of the total parking lot pavement reduced - not just the number of spaces.

Funding sources for the project will include $197,535.25 from the city and $155,000 remaining from the state grant, for a total of $352,535.25 – plus a 10 percent contingency, which raises the amount to $387,788.78. City Manager Liz Vogel noted in a memo that the city is “actively pursuing” an application to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for improvements to coastline areas, providing the opportunity for the West End project to received additional “substantial grant funding.”

Commissioners Monday also unanimously approved a contract with Molon Excavating for $158,719.84 for a long-discussed sidewalk project on Eastern Avenue. Plans call for installing new sidewalk on the south side of Eastern between Peninsula Drive and Milliken Drive. Many pedestrians and cyclists use Eastern Avenue, which connects West and East bays and has three schools located in a one-mile stretch: Traverse City Central High School, Eastern Elementary School, and Northwestern Michigan College.

According to the city’s Bay Brief, the project will include “shifting the curb line northward and constructing a six-foot-wide sidewalk with an attached one-foot buffer, totaling seven feet of concrete. This improvement aims to enhance pedestrian safety and connectivity, particularly to the crosswalk at Peninsula Drive.” Molon Excavating was the lowest of five bidders, with funding to come from the city’s capital improvement fund. The new sidewalk is targeted to be completed before the start of the 2025-26 school year.

Pictured (L-R): West End parking lot, Eastern Avenue (photo credit: City of TC)