Board notes: Community reacts to ideas for Park Township Airport
Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify the speed limit change was proposed for part of Perry Street, the segment east of 160th Avenue.
PARK TWP. — Residents of Park Township have weighed in on which ideas for the former Park Township Airport property they like and which they don't.
The second phase of a lengthy public input process to set the direction for the future of the airport land, located at the intersection of Ottawa Beach Road and 152nd Avenue, has concluded. The township board reviewed the results of that phase Thursday.
Consultant McKenna will now draft three plans, incorporating the elements that were popular with residents and feasible for the space. Those plans will be brought back to the board, and the public, this spring.
In the community brainstorming phase, residents could pitch any idea, none too big or too small, for the land. Those ideas were collected and then evaluated in phase two through online comments on a dedicated website, community engagement booths at several local businesses and in-person and remote workshops.
Ideas that received near universal support included natural preservation and native plantings, walking and biking trails, picnic areas, a veterans memorial, restrooms and an area for remote control plane and drone flying.
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Other ideas that had some enthusiastic supporters, but also had detractors, included sports fields for baseball and soccer, a court sports complex for sports like pickleball and a splash pad that could turn into a skating rink in winter.
Residents were also interested in preserving the site's aviation history with a museum or space that could accommodate a flight simulator and other aviation related activities.
A few ideas were ruled out during phase two, including an aquatic center/swimming pool, golf course, farmers market and community/recreation center.
Trustee Steve Spoelhof asked consultant McKenna not to toss out the idea of a community center yet, since the township could repurpose existing hangars for some sort of community space.
The proposals developed over the next few months will likely each incorporate multiple elements that were popular with residents.
The township board also voted Thursday to support changing the speed limit on a section of Perry Street east of 160th Avenue to 35 miles per hour.
The street has an unposted 55-mph speed limit.
A speed study from the Ottawa County Road Commission found the 85th percentile speed was 33 mph on the day traffic was studied, Aug. 31. Speed limits are set using the speed at or below which 85 percent of drivers travel.
The speed limit change needs to be approved by the Ottawa County Road Commission and Michigan State Police before it could be effective.
The board also determined it would ask residents to vote on a name for its south side boat launch, which the township has turned into a small park with a parking lot, dock and kayak storage for in the last two years after acquiring land next to the launch.
Residents signed up for the township newsletter will receive a survey with a few names to choose from.
— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Board notes: Community reacts to ideas for Park Township Airport
