MSU Students Present Red Cedar River Design Concepts in Williamston
Print
EmailThe MSU Spartans had teams in Williamston Tuesday morning; however, it was not for a sporting event.
BY: Williamston Today
The MSU Spartans had teams in Williamston Tuesday morning; however, it was not for a sporting event. MSU Landscape Architecture Studio students, headed by Professor Paul Nieratko, presented their Red Cedar River Corridor Trail design concepts to city officials, business owners and residents of Williamston.
Four teams of visionaries from MSU’s School of Planning, Design and Construction Landscape Architecture Program used the recently completed Red Cedar River Corridor Trail Plan as their major reference point in developing their designs of the 4 ½ miles along the Red Cedar River from McCormick Park to Williamstown Township Community Park. Each of the four presentations were unique from the other with all designs providing fun, recreational and efficient means of travel along the Red Cedar River.
Earl Wolf, Chairman of the Williamston Parks and Recreation Commission has been trying to instigate this project for a few years now, saying “we have been talking about this project since 1993 and it has been a dead end, so now we are looking at both MDOT and DNR Funding to match each other for the lowest cost.” City Manager Alan Dolley said “it’s talking with property owners now and coming up with a potential design that will work not only for the community but also for the property owners.”
Wolf and Dolley met with both MDOT and DNR to learn how one compliments the other therefore becoming the match for the other. Wolf explained “MDOT is quite restrictive, it can’t be something with excessive frills obviously, it is more about providing alternative transportation to get from point A to B where DNR is more about appreciating recreation and the outdoors. Each has their place and each has restrictions.” Dolley said “what really brought a lot of this on was the “Charette” corridor study that was done earlier this year making recommendations going from the Michigan State Capital out to Webberville; the river path is part of that region with no vision. This would be 4 small sections of the river path. I would say the first section here in downtown Williamston could see some serious plans in two years.”
According to Wolf the Williamston Parks and Recreation Commission is planning to move forward saying “these ideas have to be looked at; not only just conceptually but in real dollars what can be done. We will be trying to weed all that out here this fall. The ideas may or may not be grant qualifying, I don’t know but we will find out.”
The students presentations included the following components as outlined in their class assignment:
- Rivertrail Entry/Gateway Experiences
- Activity/ “Use” Nodes and River Trail Waysides
- Pedestrian, Bicycle and Canoe/Kayak Connections
- Canoe/Kayak Launches
- Links to the CATA Bus Rapid Transit line and BRT stops
- Streetscape and Trailhead Improvements
- Parks, Open Space and Water Movement System Connections
- Environmental System/Water Movement Awareness
- Site Amenities System-docks, shelters, lighting, etc.
- Art in the Landscape and the Landscape as Art
- Wayfinding/Signage System
One teams trail titled their vision; 5 senses, hearing, smelling, touching, seeing and tasting, while another was focused on Williamston’s history. Rooftop gardens, yurts, and a boat launch that is handicap accessible, bike and boat rentals and a tree island in the middle of a parking lot were among some of the ideas presented.
Narda Murphy, Williamston Community Schools Superintendent and Co-Chair of Williamston’s DDA commented on the student’s presentations saying “I am very inspired by your thoughtfulness and your creativity. There are 21st century skills at work here.”
Murphy pointed out one of the major issues in our community does not have so much to do with the design but it is the quality of the river itself. Murphy explained “I have lived here for many many years and every year I think there has to be a solution. Our 7th graders actually did water testing on the river and came up with a flag system. The flags were flying red most of the time because as they were testing the water it was not safe. Since then several of our classes on the environmental side have tried to figure out what can be done, but the problem is so much bigger than what a high school or middle school student can handle. The pollution is a major problem; as someone said in their presentation “you don’t want to go swimming in that river”. People fish but they throw the fish back in; and that is really sad.”
Professor Paul Nieratko expressed his thoughts on the 4 ½ miles along the Red Cedar River saying “Tremendous potential lies along this riverfront. Examples of all sorts of businesses turning their fronts around or becoming two sided to take advantage of the activity along the river trail that is not just meant for the restaurants, but all sorts of businesses the Sun Theatre could show movies on the river with an outdoor screen.”
Nieratko continued saying “What about McDonalds? An international corporation; think about how you can tap the potential of their funding for development of part of this riverfront.” Dolley agrees saying “with the funding mechanism, everything is possible; if the project moves forward we’ll look at every possible means to make it happen. This will not be a tax burden on the community and that is part of the process to make sure we can gather as many funding sources as possible.”
