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We’ve been hearing a lot about a Non-Motorized Transportation Plan during the past few years. Here’s your chance to help shape the future of walking and biking on the Old Mission Peninsula.
McKenna, a Michigan-based community planning firm, is working with Peninsula Township to design and create a non-motorized plan that works for everyone in the OMP community. Ethan Senti, a planner with the McKenna team, sent me the following about the plan and an upcoming community workshop.
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Read on and see what it’s all about, and be sure and attend the upcoming workshop at Old Mission Peninsula School on June 24.
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Peninsula Township has embarked on the development of its first-ever Non-Motorized Transportation Plan — a vision to improve safety and connectivity throughout the township and region for all road users, including farmers, residents and visitors, whether walking, biking or driving.
Community Workshop: June 24
To kick off the next phase of the planning process, the Township invites you to a Community Workshop on Tuesday, June 24, 6 – 8 p.m. at the Old Mission Peninsula School Gymnasium (2699 Island View Road). The event will feature a short presentation, mapping exercises, and informal opportunities to share your experiences, priorities, and hopes for non-motorized travel on the Peninsula.
This is your chance to weigh in on what matters most — whether that’s safer crossings near schools, new trail connections, better shoulders for biking, or preserving the quiet charm of rural roads.
What Is the Non-Motorized Plan?
The Non-Motorized Transportation Plan is more than just a map of future trails. It’s a comprehensive planning effort that will identify near- and long-term priorities for safer, more accessible transportation options beyond the car. These may include:
- Multi-use trails and trailheads
- Safer shoulders and bike lanes
- Improved pedestrian crossings
- Regional connections to Traverse City
- Access to natural areas, schools and community hubs
Peninsula Township is working with planning consultants from McKenna, a Michigan-based firm specializing in community planning and design, to lead the technical aspects of the project. A Township-appointed working group of local residents is also helping guide the process.
Together, this team is collecting public input, studying current conditions, identifying opportunities, and developing clear recommendations to improve non-motorized mobility.
Project Timeline
The plan officially launched at the beginning of 2025 and will wrap up by Fall 2025. The 12-month project is broken into four main phases:
- Listening and Learning (Spring/Summer 2025): Mapping existing conditions, gathering input from focus groups, and hosting the Community Workshop.
- Draft Plan Development (Summer 2025): Mapping potential improvements, identifying key connections, and outlining design strategies.
- Final Plan Adoption (Fall 2025): Producing a final plan and identifying implementation priorities.
To date, the Township has completed a consultant selection process, formed a local working group, and held an initial round of meetings to gather early insights. The upcoming June workshop will provide the community’s first look at preliminary ideas and help determine which improvements should rise to the top.
Why Now?
Peninsula Township is growing — and so are the challenges of managing traffic, protecting rural character, and ensuring that roads work for everyone. Balancing the needs of working farms, school buses, cyclists, and scenic tourists isn’t easy, but a shared plan can help.
Many partners have voiced strong support for this effort, including TART Trails, the Cherry Capital Cycling Club, Norte Youth Cycling, and Grand Traverse County officials. Thank you to the DALMAC Fund and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund – Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles Program for supporting this important work. These partnerships will be key to building connections beyond township boundaries and identifying future funding sources.
With peak seasonal population and visitor traffic in the summer months, now is the time to gather broad community input and build a plan that reflects Peninsula values.
Get Involved
Whether you’re a lifelong resident, a seasonal visitor, or new to the area, your voice matters. The plan aims to reflect a full range of needs — recreational and practical, scenic and functional, young and old.
Join Us at the Community Workshop
Tuesday, June 24, 6 – 8 p.m.
Old Mission Peninsula School Gymnasium, 2699 Island View Road
To learn more about the planning process, visit peninsulatownship.com, or contact Township Clerk Becky Chown at [email protected].
Let’s work together to make Old Mission Peninsula a safer, more connected place for everyone.
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This is a wonderful initiative and Peninsula Township has done so much already to integrate community input into the planning process. There is a lot of information to be found on the township website at this link which can help residents to prepare for the upcoming Community Workshop on June 24. See this link: https://www.peninsulatownship.com/non-motorized-transportation-planning.html
I can’t say I find much in the current available information to call this propsal anything but speculative. One item jumped out at me: Turning Peninsula Dr. into one-way? Seriously?! The rest is a list of “wants” for whomever it is that is pushing this initiative. Quite an aggressive timline to have this workshop on June 24 and expect a finished plan by Fall, 2025.Lots to be skeptical about the who is the driving force, how much has already been decided and how much real input is desired.