Editor's note:Eleventh in a series of stories on the people, places and events that made news in northern Michigan in 2008. To read previously published newsmaker articles, see record-eagle.com/newsmakers.
TRAVERSE CITY -- The vision is becoming clearer.
Residents took several steps this year in determining the region's future as part of the Grand Vision, a $1.6 million land-use and transportation study for Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska and Wexford counties.
"The purpose of this is really to develop kind of a citizen-led blueprint for growth for our future, with the idea that it's ultimately going to lead to prosperity and improved quality of life," said Marsha Smith, executive director of Rotary Charities of Traverse City, and chairwoman of the Grand Vision's public involvement committee.
More than 2,500 people gave input and ideas for transportation and growth at a series of workshops held between fall 2007 and spring 2008. Responses from those sessions led to four development options laid out in the score card.
The most popular growth scenario called for development centered in cities and villages, especially in Traverse City and Cadillac. Open rural land largely would be preserved. It included expanded urban bus service, sidewalks and bike paths in the two main cities, but limited investment in new or widened roads.
About half of the respondents chose that as their favored option.
More than 12,000 citizens filled out surveys, and about 3,500 were under 25 years old, according to the report. Roughly 200,000 people live in the six participating counties.
"We had an unbelievable participation from the young people, which I think was due to our really concerted efforts to get out to high schools," Smith said.
Grand Vision planning consultants will use the score card results as a basis for a more detailed regional vision, to be released in February, project manager Doug Christensen said.
The final vision should come out in April, with a plan of action slated for September 2009.
"It's going to be a package of implementation steps and techniques that the local governments can follow in order to carry out what we heard as desires of people in the region," Christensen said.
Results can take shape in the form of increased bus service between certain towns or revised master plans and zoning ordinances to bring townships more in line with land-use values spelled out in the study.
It's vital that citizens act together as a region, instead of individual cities and towns, said Pastor Homer Nye of The Presbyterian Church of Traverse City.
Nye is one of the Grand Vision's many "champions," community leaders who promote the project.
"The area is projected to grow, and we have a choice to either try to manage that growth, or just let it happen hodge-podge," he said. "As they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
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