Published: March 19, 2008 12:00 pm      

Land use study to hold final workshops

TRAVERSE CITY -- Jim Lively always liked the notion of a light rail system in Traverse City.

Thursday, he'll find out if it's a practical concept.

Lively is a member of a committee that's steering The Grand Vision, a $1.6 million land use and transportation study that will hold its final public workshops this Thursday in Grand Traverse County.

Workshop participants will be given packets containing different transportation choices and asked for their views on what the region's transportation system should look like over the next 50 years.

The study is part of a $3 million federal grant that also includes money to implement transportation improvements supported by the community. At an estimated $30 million a mile, Lively realizes light rail is a long shot with little chance for community support.

"More likely is bus rapid transit, buses with their own lanes designed like an above-ground subway on rubber tires," Lively said. "But if people want a bridge over the Boardman River people can see if that's something they want to pay for."

Participants in the workshops will have to make choices, said Doug Christensen of Mead & Hunt, the engineering firm coordinating the study.

Each table of 10 workshop attendees will choose a packet of game pieces that either stress new roads, mass transit, or a combination of both. The game pieces then have to be placed on a map to show where improvements should be made.

Each packet represents a projected 50-year transportation budget of approximately $300 million.

If a table runs out of money, it has to come up with a tax scheme to raise more money to complete its project, Christensen said.

"Really, this is all about the cost implications and relative cost of different transportation options," Christensen said.

Study consultants will synthesize the choices and combine them with results of past and future workshops on land use choices. Land use workshops for Leelanau, Benzie, Antrim, Kalkaska, and Wexford counties -- just recently added to the study -- will be held in May. Dates have not yet been finalized.

By August, Christensen expects to be ready with five different transportation and land use scenarios to present back to the community for a month-long comment period. Once community members choose a scenario, consultants will begin work on drafting plans and implementation strategies.