CORRADINO FINAL OTTAWA COUNTY NON-MOTORIZED Submitted to: County of Ottawa Planning and Grants Department Submitted by: THE CORRADINO GROUP PREIN & NEWHOF April 2002 Final Report—Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathways Study CORRADINO Foreword The Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathways Study involved collaboration among local units of government, the general public, and representatives of the bicycling community. The purpose of the plan is to assist local governments in Ottawa County in developing, collaborating on, expanding, and interconnecting a countywide non-motorized pathway system. Special thanks are due the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners, West Michigan Regional Planning Commission, Ottawa County Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, local units of government, and the active participation of Ottawa County citizens who have attended meetings and provided input for this study. 1 - Page F Final Report—Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathways Study CORRADINO Table of Contents Executive Summary S-1 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Facility Types 2 1.2 Additional Information 4 2. Existing Conditions 5 2.1 History of Ottawa County’s Non-Motorized Pathways 5 2.2 New Projects 6 2.3 Greenways and Their Place in the Non-Motorized Pathway System 8 2.4 Existing and Planned Pathways 9 3. Conceptual Pathways 13 3.1 Points of Interest 13 3.2 Planning Considerations 13 3.2.1 Non-Motorized Pathway Types 13 3.2.2 Pathway Location 15 3.2.3 Staging Areas 15 3.2.4 Rail and Utility Corridors 15 3.2.5 Connections to Lake Michigan and Major Parks 16 3.2.6 Grand Valley State University 17 3.2.7 Highways and Barriers 17 3.2.8 Items to Consider When Designing a Pathway 18 3.2.9 Signage 19 3.3 Conceptual Pathway Network 20 3.3.1 West 22 3.3.2 South 22 3.3.3 Central 22 3.3.4 North 23 3.3.5 Major Connecting Segments 23 3.4 Cost and Pathway Prioritization 23 Final Report—Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathways Study CORRADINO Table of Contents (continued) 4. Economic Benefits 29 4.1 Personal Satisfaction, Health, and Recreation 29 4.2 Revenues from Tourism 31 4.3 Economic Effects in Ottawa County 31 4.3.1 Tourism 31 4.3.2 Non-Tourism 32 4.3.3 Reasonableness of Estimates 32 4.4 Conclusions 33 5. Implementation Strategy 34 5.1 Organization and Getting Started 34 5.2 Construction, Signage and Maintenance 35 5.2.1 Construction 35 5.2.2 Signage 36 5.2.3 Maintenance 37 5.3 Funding 40 5.3.1 Local Units of Government 40 5.3.2 Federal, State and Private Funding Sources 41 5.3.3 County Millage 42 5.4 Recommendations 43 Appendix A - Frequently Asked Questions Appendix B - Pathway Inventory Appendix C - Information on Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning 2665\finalreport Final Report—Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathways Study CORRADINO List of Figures Figure 2-1 Five-Year Roadway Improvement Plan 7 Figure 2-2 Existing Non-Motorized Pathways 10 Figure 2-3 Planned Non-Motorized Pathways and Pathways Under Consideration 11 Figure 3-1 Points of Interest 14 Figure 3-2 Conceptual Non-Motorized Pathways 21 Figure 3-3 Non-Motorized Pathway System 24 Figure 3-4 Regional Non-Motorized Pathways 25 List of Tables Table 3-1 Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathway Study - Conceptual Pathway Summary 26 Table 3-2 Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathway Study - Conceptual Pathway System by Local Unit of Government 27 Table 4-1 Forecast of Annual User Days 32 Table 5-1 Recommended Maintenance 37 Table 5-2 Asphalt Resurfacing Costs 39 Table 5-3 Potential Countywide Non-motorized Pathway Millage Analysis 42 Final Report—Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathways Study CORRADINO Executive Summary Ottawa County is growing fast. From 1990, the county’s population grew from 187,000 to 238,000, making it the fourth fastest-growing county in the state in terms of population. Much of the development is suburban expansion of the Grand Rapids area. An important asset in any community is recreational opportunities, including bicycle and walking paths. Recreational opportunities are equally important in Ottawa County because of tourism, which generates nearly $80 million annually. As the county expands and there is increased pressure to improve roads to carry more traffic, and as residences and businesses develop in rural areas, the ability to develop safe bicycle and walking paths will be constrained. The Ottawa County Non- Motorized Pathways Plan has been developed to provide a vision for a countywide non-motorized pathway system that will benefit residents, tourists, and the businesses in this community. If this non-motorized pathway system was in place, Ottawa County would have one of the most sophisticated non-motorized pathway networks in the state. This Local units of government in Ottawa County have system, combined with Lake Michigan, developed bike lanes and separated pathways in can make Ottawa County a “destination communities such as Grand Haven (above), Spring Lake Coopersville Allendale Hudsonville location.” The goal of the Ottawa County Non- Motorized Pathways Study is to provide information that will assist local units of government to develop an interconnected non-motorized transportation network throughout the county. This network will be accessed and used by children on bicycles, recreational and family-oriented users, walkers and joggers, rollerbladers, and more serious touring and competitive cyclists. People will use the network for work and recreation. The network will support people wanting to commute to work and help reduce dependence on and use of the automobile. Ultimately, this As people move outside the towns and cities, the shoulders of county roads become recreational vision can help realize an enhanced pathways. Many of the road shoulders are not paved quality of life for residents of Ottawa and are not suitable for bicycling County and visitors to the county. 1 - Page S Final Report—Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathways Study Non-motorized pathways (also commonly referred to as bikepaths, trails, and rail-trails) generally refer to a physical facility such as a separated path that can be used by pedestrians, cyclists, joggers, and rollerbladers; widened road shoulders for use by cyclists; and, greenway trails along natural features such as rivers. CORRADINO Currently, separated pathways along roadways are the most common types of non- motorized pathways in Ottawa County. These can be found in Holland, Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Coopersville, Allendale, Georgetown Township, and Hudsonville. The Musketawa Rail-Trail in the northern part of the county is a rail trail that was developed in the late 1990s by the State of Michigan along an abandoned railroad line. There are also signed bike lanes, which can be found in Grand Haven and a limited number of paved road shoulders. A key reason for conducting this study is the strong support expressed by the public for bicycle and non-motorized trails in surveys conducted by the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission. In a 1999 County Resident Survey conducted by Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission, “paths for biking and rollerblading” were identified as one of the most desirable of a range of recreational resources and opportunities trailing only picnicking and beaches and “tied” with nature centers and programs and hiking. At a general level, the demand for these facilities can be assessed by observing high levels of use on existing trails and summer events in the county focusing on bicycling, rollerblading, and other trail activities. Meeting the demand for expansion and development of new trails must address three particular user groups: Those persons who use the trails as functional linkages between two points Those persons who use the trails for fitness, health and general enjoyment reasons Those persons who may use the trails as a recreation destination Each user group has its own needs, but the non-motorized pathway concept can support the demands and needs of the people in all three groups. In addition, the development of an enhanced non- motorized network can increase the county’s attractiveness for tourism and provide additional opportunities for tourists already coming to the area for its beaches and parks. Improving development of non- motorized pathways in Ottawa County will best be accomplished by a cooperative effort involving all levels of The Musketawa Rail-Trail in northeastern Ottawa County government. Most trails in existence was developed by the Michigan Department of Natural today have been initiated by local units Resources and is maintained by Ottawa County of government and funded primarily by local millages. Ottawa County can provide support to the local units of government by providing leadership, expertise, and coordination in the development and expansion of the non-motorized pathway network. 2 - Page S Final Report—Ottawa County Non-Motorized Pathways Study The conceptual non-motorized pathway system identified in this report (Figure S- 1) focuses primarily on development of regional linkages in Ottawa County that CORRADINO connect the existing pathways. The conceptual network includes paved road shoulders and off-street pathways, representing 178 miles of new facilities. Paved road shoulders identified as part of the network will be a minimum four-foot width consistent with nationally accepted standards while separated pathways are recommended to be from eight- to 14- feet wide, depending on anticipated usage. The widened paved road Bicycling in Ottawa County provides opportunities for shoulders identified in the plan should be recreation and exercise for residents and tourists. considered for signing and striping as bike lanes. The Conceptual Network Tables S-1 and S-2 present the conceptual pathway system. Table S-1 presents the conceptual improvements suggested for each area of the county as well as the cost and priority as defined in this plan.