Envisioning Traverse City’s Future: Part 3 - Creating Safe Routes for All…
Walking, Biking, and Living in Traverse City
When you picture the Traverse City we all love… tree-lined neighborhoods, kids playing in yards, and the walkability of a classic Midwest town - you probably imagine a place where it feels safe to let your kids ride their bikes to school or run down the block to the park.
But for many families, the reality doesn’t feel that simple anymore.
As traffic increases and our city continues to grow, more parents are saying what I’ve heard over and over again:
“I just don’t feel comfortable letting my kids walk or bike to school.”
And who could blame them? On too many streets, the sidewalks are missing, the crosswalks are faded or nonexistent, and cars zip by faster than they should.
Whether you’re a parent walking your child to school, a senior heading to a medical appointment, or a worker commuting downtown without a car, we all share the need for safe, reliable ways to get where we’re going.
We can improve this.
Pedestrian Corridors
Colloquially, Traverse City does have a few key routes that help people get across town by bike or on foot. If you’re in the know, you might use:
The Cross-Town Route, which connects Traverse City Central High School to The Village at Grand Traverse Commons and Munson Medical Center.
The Rose Street Route, a north-south connector on the east side of town.
Elmwood Street, a north-south connector on the west side.
TART in Town, which includes several point-to-point trails in the downtown area.
The issue is, these routes are more tribal knowledge - meaning locals who ride every day may know them, but most people don’t. They’re not always clearly marked, easy to navigate, or intuitively connected.
If we want to build a Traverse City that’s truly walkable and bikeable for everyone, we need to create widely known, clearly signed, and thoughtfully designed pedestrian and bike corridors that connect neighborhoods, parks, schools, and services in every direction: north-south and east-west.
And we can’t just plan these from city hall - we need to involve our neighbors in that process.
Nobody understands the gaps in our infrastructure better than the people trying to push a stroller down a shoulder or bike to work on a street without a lane.
We Have Tools to Make This Happen
While some of this can be supported with recaptured funds from TIF 97, the even bigger opportunity lies in matching grants - federal and state dollars available to communities that identify safety and mobility projects in their Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).
The CIP is the city's five-year outlook for major infrastructure projects. When a need (like a sidewalk or safe crossing) is included in the CIP, it becomes eligible for grant funding, technical assistance, and prioritization in the city budget.
If we align our vision for safer ‘complete streets’ with the CIP, we unlock access to funds that multiply our local investment and move projects from wish list to reality.
That’s why I’ve been attending the Complete Streets Ad Hoc Committee, which meets the second Tuesday of each month at 10 a at the Governmental Center.
These meetings are open to the public - and they’re where many of these ideas start to take shape. I’d love to see more neighbors there.
Local Champions for Change: GTSSA
We’re not alone in wanting better. The Grand Traverse Safe Streets Advisory Committee (GTSSA) has been hard at work compiling their top 25 priorities for safer streets - ranging from school crossings to traffic calming and corridor improvements.
They’ll be presenting this list at the City Commission meeting on April 7, and I encourage everyone who cares about making Traverse City safer to attend and support their work.
Their approach is grounded in local experience and data.
It reflects a vision of Traverse City where walking and biking aren't risky, but routine.
What It Costs - and Why It’s Worth It…
Let’s talk real numbers:
Sidewalks typically cost between $6 and $12 per square foot, which means roughly $15,000–$25,000 per block, depending on location and materials.
Curb bump-outs - which shorten crosswalks and slow turning vehicles -cost around $13,000 per corner on average.
These are investments we could prioritize today. They’re the kind of small-scale, high-impact projects that pay off in quality of life, reduced traffic, and even long-term savings in public health and infrastructure wear.
A Smart, Local Investment in Safe Routes
With the expiration of TIF 97, the city will recapture $2.3 million annually into our general fund. While continuing to support our downtown remains critical, we have an opportunity to make real investments in the neighborhoods where people live - especially when it comes to how we move around.
A portion of these funds could support “Complete Streets” principles: infrastructure that prioritizes safety for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, and drivers alike. For Traverse City, this means filling sidewalk gaps, calming traffic, and creating four protected bike and pedestrian corridors—two running north-south and two running east-west—that connect our neighborhoods, schools, and parks.
Cities across the country have seen major success with similar strategies:
Ann Arbor has invested heavily in its Safe Routes to School program, using federal grants and local funds to install sidewalks, pedestrian islands, and traffic-calming features near elementary and middle schools. Their “A2Zero” plan even ties walkability to climate goals.
Minneapolis rebuilt entire corridors with protected bike lanes and reduced speeds after noticing that crashes involving kids were disproportionately occurring near schools and intersections without crosswalks.
Boulder, CO has made safe biking a citywide priority by building over 300 miles of bikeways—almost all protected from traffic—and now reports that nearly 20% of students bike to school.
And here in Traverse City, we’re not starting from scratch.
The TART Trails network, the Eighth Street redesign, and the work done around the Boardman Lake Loop have laid the groundwork for what’s possible. But the connections are still patchy, and many neighborhoods—including the one I live in—aren’t fully included in that network yet.
Why This Matters - To Me and To Families Like Mine
I live on Santo Street, just a few blocks south of downtown. On my single block, there are five families with young kids. And there are no sidewalks - not on Santo, and not on Baldwin either. For now, our neighborhood kids are mostly riding scooters in the driveway or being walked to the park by a parent.
But in a few short years, they’ll be heading to Traverse Heights Elementary or trying to get to the park on their own. If we start now, we can build the infrastructure that will let them do that safely.
We have a window… not just for my block but for several of the neighborhoods like mine.
This issue is personal for another reason, too. Years ago, I was T-boned by a pizza delivery driver who was rushing to meet the “30-minute guarantee.”
I walked away (eventually), but the experience shaped how I see street safety.
It’s not just about kids. It’s about all of us - runners, bikers, dog walkers, seniors out for a stroll—who deserve to feel safe on our streets.
This isn’t about creating bike highways or banning cars. It’s about balance. It’s about building a Traverse City where a kid riding a bike to school isn’t a novelty- it’s normal.
We can do better—and we don’t have to wait for someone else to show us how.
What’s Next?
In Part 4 of this series, we’ll explore how environmentally friendly infrastructure investments - like stormwater improvements and tree canopy expansion - can protect Northern Michigan’s beauty while saving the city money over time.
In the meantime, if you live on a street like mine… or if you have ideas about how we can build a safer, more connected Traverse City, I’d love to hear from you.
Let’s grab coffee, go for a walk, or meet up for happy hour. Let’s keep this conversation local, practical, and focused on what matters most: making Traverse City safer and more livable for everyone.
Thanks Neighbors!
-Lance
Sources & Further Reading
Grand Traverse Safe Streets Alliance (GTSSA)
https://cherrycapitalcyclingclub.org/gtssaTART Trails – TART in Town Info
https://traversetrails.org/trails/tart-in-town/City of Traverse City Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
https://www.traversecitymi.gov/government/capital-improvement-plan.htmlAverage Cost of Sidewalk Installation – LawnStarter
https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/cost/concrete-sidewalk-price/Curb Extensions (Bump-Outs) Cost Estimates – PEDSAFE, FHWA
https://pedbikesafe.org/PEDSAFE/countermeasures_detail.cfm?CM_NUM=5Smart Growth America – Complete Streets Policy Resources
https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/national-complete-streets-coalition/AARP – Complete Streets for All Ages
https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/getting-around/info-2020/complete-streets.htmlNational Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) – Urban Street Design Guide
https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/U.S. DOT – Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program
https://www.transportation.gov/grants/SS4ALeague of Michigan Bicyclists – Local Advocacy for Safer Streets
https://lmb.org/
