On Sept. 10, 2019, the Cleveland Township Board approved the proposed recommended route for “The Path to Good Harbor” otherwise known as Segment 9.
And Tuesday, nearly five years later to the date, the township board voted to rescind this action.
“As an elected government body, I think it’s extremely important that we acknowledge and adhere to some fiscal practices,” Cleveland Township Supervisor Tim Stein said, during the board’s regular monthly meeting. “ I think (the price) has nowhere to go but to continue to spiral up … $15 plus million is fiscally irresponsible. I still hold that belief today. I would add further that the user experience cost based on projected user visitors over 30 years is way too high to defend from a cost benefit standpoint. It just doesn’t make any logical sense.”
The proposed trail extension from Bohemian Road to Good Harbor Trail, across nearly five miles along Little Traverse Lake and is projected to cost upwards of $15 million.
The Sleeping Bear Dune Heritage Trail currently runs from Empire to Bohemian Road, a 20-mile trip.
Those opposed to the extension have raised concerns about the price tag — 4.2-miles for $15.4 million — and environmental implications of removing an estimated 7,300 trees for trail construction.
SBDNL along with fundraising partner TART Trails and construction partner MDOT have pushed the project from beginning this fall until at least spring 2025.
The crowd was one-sidedly opposed to the current trail that has been in the works for nearly 15 years.
The conceptual design was done from 2008 to 2010; Preliminary Design from 2018 to 2019; Design & Engineering from 2022 to 2024. According to Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, construction is slated for 2025 or 2026 after it was originally slated to begin this year.
“I still believe that going down 669 and going down Lake Michigan, we’ve got a restroom there. I like that route. And ending that there. I just think there’s too much impact going down Little Traverse,” Cleveland Township trustee Jan Nowak said.
There were no representatives of the park or TART Trails at the meeting.
The township hall sits immediately across from the site where TART Trails and the National Park Service proposed to begin the extension of the trail.
Whether or not the resolution would have any effect on plans of construction is yet to be known. Over 40% of Cleveland Township land is occupied by SBDNL.
According to the Friend of Sleeping Bear Dunes, the entire Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail saw nearly 75,000 visitors in 2023. The majority of those numbers come from high visitor areas along the 20-mile Heritage Trail system including the Dune Climb, Grand Haven, and Glen Arbor.
