Public Meeting for Midland County Parks and Recreation property

APRIL 10 PUBLIC MEETING

Swanton Memorial Center

7:30 pm-

6460 N Water Road, Edenville, MI  48620

Midland County Parks and Recreation invites you to a public meeting to gather input as it develops a master plan for the 117 acre property east of Sanford Lake Road. The county has acquired this property from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. We want to maximize county resources and establish a vision for the property that balances good stewardship, county-wide recreation needs and a reflection of your interests and your values.
 
This event will give you a chance to provide input regarding features that will be considered in the Site Master Plan for this facility.

5 (Data-backed) Reasons to Make Biking a Priority in 2018

The following is a guest post from mycitybikes.com

Biking is growing fast as a form of recreation and transportation. That's why cost-effective digital bike mapping is becoming a priority for communities across the country. But don't take our word for it! These 5 statistics show why it's important to make biking a priority for your service area this year.

103.7 million Americans ride bikes.

SOURCE: PeopleForBikes
One in 3 Americans ride a bike at least once a year. For comparison, the same study found that 2 in 5 Americans ran or jogged outside at least once a year.

TAKEAWAY: Biking is mainstream. It’s become almost as common as jogging!

The number of Americans biking has grown 29% in the past 5 years.

SOURCE: Statista
The number of people who said they rode a bike in the past 12 months grew from 47.1 million Americans in 2008 to 51.1 million in 2012 to 66.2 million in 2017.

TAKEAWAY: More people are riding bikes today than at any point in the past 10 years.

Cyclists spend more at local businesses than any other group.

SOURCE: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia
Per capita per week, cyclists spent the most money at local businesses. More than pedestrians, drivers, or those who take public transportation.

TAKEAWAY: Local businesses benefit when people bike.

The number of trips made by bicycle in the U.S. more than doubled between 2001-2009.

SOURCE: National Household Travel Survey, American Community Survey
From coast to coast, the National Household Travel Survey showed that the number of trips made by bicycle in the U.S. more than doubled from 1.7 billion in 2001 to 4 billion in 2009.

TAKEAWAY: Biking to get around has become a popular mode of transportation.

3 in 4 bike share users travel in groups of two or more, and most don’t identify as "cyclists".

SOURCE: Virginia Tech Capital Bike Share Study
A survey of casual bike share users in Washington, D.C. found that 75% were traveling in groups of two or more, and that 60% did not identify themselves as "cyclists".

TAKEAWAY: Bike share and rental is a social activity, and most people who use these resources aren’t bicycling enthusiasts. They’re just regular folks!

My City Bikes creates cost-effective interactive and PDF bike maps to accurately document local bike facilities and help you show residents where to ride.
 

To learn more, contact My City Bikes here.

Public input sought for Midland land use

The landscape of Midland is changing faster than what is reflected in its future land use map, which is in the process of being updated.

As part of the process of reviewing the city’s master plan, there will be multiple ways for community members to provide feedback during open houses, in the form of written comments, and during upcoming planning commission meetings. Check out the Midland Daily News article here.

Get Engaged! A Guide to Getting Involved in Your Community - Mid-Michigan

Get Engaged is a new MSU Extension program for people interested in learning how to get involved and make a difference in their community. The program provides valuable training on the skills needed to be an active community member, while giving participants hands on practice by walking them through a planning process for a local engagement effort.

Find out more here.

Midland County to use new data to predict flood patterns

MIDLAND (WJRT) - (03/08/18) - Midland County will soon be using new elevation data as county leaders prepare for future flooding.

Midland County IT/GIS Director Chris Cantrell said last June's flooding was the tipping point to get the LIDAR data from the state, gathered from an airplane. It sends pulses of lasers to the

"That allows us through mitigation to say, 'okay we know we need to close these roads when the water hits 24 feet or 26 feet or 28 feet. We'll know where we need to do that across the county. And that way we can prepare in advance for the next flood that's going to happen," Cantrell said.

Cantrell said the information can be used by the road commission, drain commissioner and emergency management.

The county has wanted the tool for eight years, but when they first started looking at it cost $180,000.

Now it costs just under $14,000, with the county paying around $4,000 after sharing the cost with the road commission and city.

Cantrell said you might be surprised how land changes over time and can impact what locations will flood. New roads, new buildings and other things can impact where water will end up.

This new set of information will give county leaders a more accurate, instant picture of what's going on.

"If we had to do this back in 1986 you'd have surveyors and months and months of work, between surveyors and engineers to get the information that we can now get in the blink of an eye," Cantrell said.

The GIS Department has some preliminary data now, and should have the rest later next month.

Access to Chippewassee Park via Golfside Drive Closed Due to Construction

March 5, 2018 – Effective until further notice, the City of Midland has closed vehicle and pedestrian access to Chippewassee Park from Golfside Drive due to potential hazards related to the M-20 Bridge construction.

Visitors wishing to access Chippewassee Park, including Trilogy Skate Park and the dog park, may do so on foot by using the Tridge. Residents are reminded that electricity to these areas has been temporarily shut off due to construction activities. River access via the Golfside Drive Boat Launch remains open.

Construction on the M-20 Bridge is expected to complete in Fall 2019.

Periodic updates on the progress of the M-20 Bridge project will be shared on the City of Midland Facebook page at facebook.com/cityofmidlandmi and on Twitter at @CityofMidlandMI. For more information on trail closures and park updates, contact Midland Parks and Recreation at 989-837-6930.

 Residents are reminded that due to the nature of construction activities, the information provided above may change at any time. Should an issue arise that would change this schedule, the City will provide updates via the methods listed above.

MDOT Releases 2018 Construction Project Map

MICHIGAN ( WPBN/WGTU) -- If you're planning a trip somewhere in Michigan, you may want to double check the Michigan Department of Transportation's 2018 Paving the Way state construction map before you leave.

The map is now available for motorists to view online.

Along with where construction is happening, motorists can also see where rest stops and Welcome Centers are located across the state.

More information can be found here.

City Construction Projects Planned for Spring/Summer 2018

February 23, 2018 – The City of Midland Engineering Department is ramping up for another busy construction season in 2018 with a variety of street reconstruction, resurfacing, and water main replacement projects on this year’s list.

High-traffic streets scheduled to undergo reconstruction include Eastman Avenue at W. Wackerly Street, Waldo Road from Bay City Road to S. Saginaw Road, Waldo Avenue from E. Ashman to Wheeler, Airport Road from Dublin Avenue to Perrine Road, and W. Wheeler Street from N. Saginaw Road to Jefferson Avenue. The City anticipates street and lane closures during projects, and detours will be posted if necessary. 

Street construction activities will also take place at several other locations, including E. Carpenter Street, W. Chapel Lane, Gibson Street, Richard Court, Manor Drive, Sayre Street, St. Nicholas Street, and Orchard Drive from W. Sugnet Road to Main Street. General work includes curb replacement, sidewalk repairs, water main replacement, and street paving activities.

More information is available here.