The debate over sidewalks — and the lack thereof — along Napier Avenue between Niles Avenue in St. Joseph and I-94 in Benton Township continues to take shape following a well-attended public open house hosted by the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission last week. Now that same organization is in search of additional public feedback regarding the Napier Avenue Pedestrian & Bicycle Plan.
The commission picked up a fair amount of feedback from the public open house on March 26th, but they want to make sure that those who were unable to attend also gain a voice in the discussion.
The Napier Avenue Pedestrian & Bicycle Plan is a community-driven plan to transform Napier Avenue into a more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly roadway. The planning team would like to hear from as many area residents, business owners, and users of the road as possible in order to gather a more complete picture of specific issues present along the corridor.
Recognizing that a number of interested members of the public were unable to attend the first open house, web-based and paper surveys are available which allow residents to continue to give their feedback.
A web-based survey can be obtained by going to the link below.
For those who may wish to take a paper-based survey, that can be obtained by going to www.napieravenue.org, or by either calling 269-925-1137×1513, or by visiting one of the locations listed below:
- Southwest Michigan Regional Planning Commission…376 W Main St…Benton Harbor, MI 49022
- Benton Charter Township Hall…1725 Territorial Road…Benton Harbor, MI 49022
- Saint Joseph Charter Township Hall…3000 Washington Ave….PO Box 146…St. Joseph, MI 49085
The deadline for feedback is Friday, April 13th. Completed surveys should be returned or mailed to one of the locations listed above.
Surveys include background information and facts surrounding Napier Avenue today, questions regarding priorities for the future of the corridor, and maps that participants can use to identify opportunities for improving pedestrian and bicycle access along the corridor.
More information on the project may be found at that same link, www.napieravenue.org.
A second Public Open House Meeting will be held on Monday, May 21 from 4pm-to-7pm at Napier Parkview Baptist Church, which is located at 245 W. Napier Avenue, at the heart of the road involved in the study. Feedback gathered from the public during the first public open house meeting will be used to develop a set of design alternatives which will be presented during the second public open house meeting.
The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission (SWMPC) is one of fourteen state recognized regional planning governmental non-profit organizations in Michigan. The organization was enabled by state legislation and formally created in 1971 by the three counties it serves, Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren.
SWMPC is a regional planning resource staffed with professional regional planners and is designed to be responsive to the planning needs of the region. SWMPC is the USDOT and MDOT recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Twin Cities (Benton Harbor-St. Joseph) and the Niles-Buchanan-Cass County Area Transportation Studies, as well as the rural and small urban transportation Regional Planning Agency for Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren Counties.
Additionally, SWMPC is the state designated area-wide water quality management planning agency under the Clean Water Act, and the SWMPC leads and participates in watershed management planning. SWMPC is the EDA designated Economic Development District for those same three counties.
The Vision of the commission is: Planning great communities together.
The Mission Statement of the commission reads as follows: Our team uses its passion and expertise to connect people, assist communities, and advance cooperative solutions to regional challenges experienced by the communities that created us.
