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Politics & Government

Farmington Officials May Reconsider Shiawassee Switchback

Limited funds may put the planned zigzag path from Shiawassee Park to downtown Farmington on hold.

Farmington leaders sang the praises of a new pedestrian-friendly walkway/staircase in when $350,000 in federal grants came through for the project in 2006. 

In meeting minutes recorded Nov. 21, 2005, then-Mayor Valerie Knol said the switchback would play a "critical part" in making downtown Farmington more pedestrian-friendly and would "help differentiate the city of Farmington from other communities."

On Monday, Dec. 6, City Council member Knol and other city officials may sing a different tune. 

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That's when City Council members are expected to discuss the walkway and other pending projects vying for the limited cash in city coffers.

City Manager Vince Pastue said the Shiawassee Park walkway – "the switchback" – would require roughly $350,000 in city money to complete. That may be a tough sell with numerous other projects competing for part of $600,000 in a capital improvements fund that has been hobbled by the moribund economy. 

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The walkway was conceived during the city's 1997-98 visioning process and was incorporated into the city's Master Plan. At the time the 2006 grant was awarded, city leaders had little inkling that an economic collapse and plummeting property values would hamstring tax revenues and force budget cuts. 

Pastue said that if the walkway project is to beat the October 2011 federal deadline for spending the grant, construction must start soon.

"There's a dialogue going on now," Pastue said. "But if it's going to happen, we've got to giddyup on this thing."

The walkway would replace the steep, crumbling steps that scale the hillside in the western section of Shiawassee Park. That stairway rises above the Middle Branch of the Rouge River, peaking behind Farmington Public Schools' Maxfield Training Center. They are arduous to climb and impossible to navigate with strollers or wheelchairs. 

Plans call for a zigzag "switchback" design with benches, lighting, terraced observation areas and a barrier-free design that meets the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. A covered wooden bridge would span the Middle Branch of the Rouge River, the park's signature resource. Signage and other visual cues would help connect the steps more directly with downtown. 

Steve Schneemann, of Farmington-based S3 Architecture and chairman of the design committee for the , helped create conceptual drawings of the switchback for the city. He said he hopes the city can find a way to fund the project. 

"I think it's an important project, and I'd love to see the city come up with enough money to see it go forward," Schneemann said.

It would be a key way to link downtown with the park, he said: "If you're not very familiar with the area, you can be in the park and not realize the downtown is literally a stone's throw away." 

The federal money for the staircase was part of $500,000 granted for park projects that were to include improvements to lighting, ballfields and pathways. Pastue said that some of the park projects – including improvements to the pathways – may go forward even if the walkway plans are scuttled. 

He said the walkway money cannot be shifted to other projects, but it might be possible to secure an extension to the 2011 deadline.

"I wouldn't close the door on that," he said. 

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