Traverse City seeks public input on five-year parks plan update

Traverse City has opened a 30-day window that could decide which parks get fixed first, which trails get extended and which neighborhood spaces wait longer for upgrades. The draft five-year parks and recreation master plan is not just a planning document, it is the city’s roadmap for maintenance, access and future amenities, and officials say it also affects whether Traverse City can keep chasing outside grant money for local projects.

The city said its current parks and recreation plan expires at the end of 2025, and that an approved five-year plan must be filed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources by February 1, 2026 to stay eligible for grant opportunities. That makes the public comment period more than a formality. The choices that end up in the final plan can shape everything from playground work and athletic field upkeep to trail connections and park improvements in places residents use every day.

The comment period began at noon on May 1 and runs for 30 days. Residents can review the draft plan, mail comments to the Traverse City Parks and Recreation Department on Woodmere Avenue, email feedback or stop by the office to look at printed copies in person. The city also launched an idea-generation survey on July 7, 2025 and scheduled a prioritization survey for August 11, 2025 as part of the same master planning process, which the city said began in July 2025 and was expected to be completed in December 2025.

The stakes are local and immediate. Clinch Park Beach stretches along more than two miles of public land on West Grand Traverse Bay, F & M Park sits in the heart of the Boardman Neighborhood, Hickory Hills Recreation Area draws year-round users, West End Beach serves swimmers and shoreline visitors, Brown Bridge Quiet Area covers about 1,300 acres 11 miles southeast of the city, and Bryant Park remains a central neighborhood park. The final plan will help determine how much attention those places receive over the next five years, and which parts of town see the benefit first.

Funding makes the issue even sharper. In July 2025, the city said a ballot proposal would ask voters to approve use of $3 million for additional park improvements in the November 2025 election. The city has also relied on Brown Bridge Trust Fund dollars for park capital improvements, with voter approval in 2014 and 2019, and the most recent authorization expiring on November 4, 2024.

Traverse City’s 2021 five-year recreation plan for the city and the Charter Township of Garfield Recreational Authority covered January 2021 through December 2025 and noted that approved plans are needed to apply for Michigan Department of Natural Resources funding. That same logic now applies to the new update, as the city tries to position its parks for the next round of grants, repairs and expansion.