Traffic is a hot issue in Traverse City, yet much of the debate focuses on how to move traffic from one area to another, rather than ways to actually reduce it. Unless we give visitors and workers more options for getting around, congestion will increase.
Some major fixes to our local roads are on the way thanks to a state general fund surplus found earlier this year. The projects includes $500,000 for a Division Street study, $1 million to replace the aging Front Street bridge in downtown Traverse City, and money for street repairs in the villages of Kingsley and Fife Lake.
In the Grand Traverse region, our long-distance commutes are having a big impact on our health. In fact, most Grand Traverse area workers spend about 46 minutes a day sitting alone in their cars traveling to and from work.
We also know we can’t build our way out of congestion. No city in the world has ever done this, and Traverse City will not be the first. But what we can do is this: Manage regional traffic and reduce in-town, peak-hour commuter traffic. We’ll explore these proposals in detail in an upcoming blog post series titled Five Ways to Beat Traffic in TC.
Traffic problems take on new urgency during Traverse City’s busy season as too much congestion hampers business growth, wastes fuel, and hurts this area’s quality of life. But local leaders need to fix our existing transportation network first before pursuing an expensive, ill-conceived, short-term remedy like a new Hartman-Hammond bridge.
A quick Google Maps satellite image reveals the inefficiencies of one of the area’s busiest intersections.