News
Posted Jul 9, 2019
By Melissa Frick | mfrick@mlive.com
PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI – Construction is expected to begin this September on the second segment of Plainfield Township’s Jupiter Trail, which will run along Jupiter Avenue from West River Drive to Belmont Center Drive. MORE > > >
October 26, 2018 Mlive By Madison Bennett mbennet2@mlive.com
Although it was delayed by construction issues for more than three months, Plainfield Township has finally got to celebrate the completion of its first major project paid for through its trail millage.
Members of the Township Board and Parks and Recreation Committee gathered at the Jupiter Trail, at the intersection of Jupiter and Plainfield avenues, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 24.
"As far as my knowledge...this is the first and only special millage that the township has ever approved," Township Supervisor Robert Homan said in brief remarks at the ceremony.
The new 1.9-mile trail is a connector along the east side of Jupiter Avenue linking the sidewalks of Plainfield Avenue to West River Drive and eventually to the Fred Meijer White Pine Trial.
Additionally, the trail features a connection of Airway Street to the Jupiter Trail through a stairway, which is equipped with a cement trough to allow people to bring their bikes up and down the stairs.
Completion of the trail was originally set for sometime in July, but the date was pushed back multiple times due to construction problems before it was officially finished in September.
Jupiter Trail to be completed by Sept. 5
This was the first major project paid for through the township's trail millage of 0.5 mills approved by voters in August 2016. The millage will last an additional eight years before it is up for renewal.
"I know that there is enough work to do for another renewal, but let's see how good we can do on this one," Homan said. "This is a real good start."
According to Bill Fischer, Plainfield's community development director, the township intends to hold a public ceremony next year after the north segment is complete.
Posted Jun 13, 18 By Madison Bennett
mbennet2@mlive.com
Construction on Plainfield Township's Jupiter Trail is underway and is anticipated for completion sometime in July.
The new 1.9-mile trail is a connector along the east side of Jupiter Avenue linking the sidewalks of Plainfield Avenue to West River Drive and eventually to the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail.
This is the first major project being paid for through the township's trail millage of 0.5-mill approved by voters in August 2016.
The project will also allow for the connection of Airway Street to the Jupiter Trail through a stairway.
Footings for the new stairs up to Airway Street have been poured and some of the new retaining wall is in place, according to Plainfield Superintendent Cameron Van Wyngarden.
Van Wyngarden said that several years ago athletes from Northview High School would come over the hill on Jupiter Avenue going northbound and run in the roadway.
"There were a lot of concerns about safety in that area and I think this will alleviate a lot of those problems," he said.
In addition to the stairway, a cement trough will be built next to it to allow for people to easily bring their bikes up and down the stairs.
The township has been working with Nagel Construction, of Wayland, to build the 10-foot-wide non-motorized pathway.
Van Wyngarden said they anticipate completion sometime in July, but that date could be moved up if the weather remains good for construction.
By Jeffrey Cunningham MLIVE Posted Apr 9
Work is expected to start this spring on the new trail connector along the east side of Jupiter Avenue linking the sidewalks on Plainfield Avenue to West River Drive and eventually to the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail.
Plainfield Township is expected to award the $975,000 bid for the 10-foot-wide non-motorized pathway to Nagel Construction, of Wayland, in the next couple of weeks. Work is scheduled to begin by the end of May and take four to six weeks to complete.
The 1.9-mile trail is the first major project being paid for from proceeds from the township's 0.5-mill dedicated trails millage voters approved in August 2016.
Bill Fishcer, Plainfield Township Community Development director, said the new trail is important to the township as it will eventually connect the major residential areas in the southern part of the township to the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail, which is in the center of the township.
"This trail is of great benefit to the residents of the township as it takes people south of the Grand River to West River Drive," Fischer said.
Last summer the Kent County Road Commission re-striped the four-lane Jupiter Avenue bridge over the Grand River to allow for a non-motorized trail on the east side of the bridge.
The project will also allow for the connection of Airway Street to the Jupiter Avenue Trail via a stairway. Fischer said currently residents from the area surrounding Northview High School as well as Northview athletes climb down the hill on the Airway Street overpass over Jupiter Avenue to then be able to run along Jupiter Avenue north to the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail. The stairway will allow for safer access from the Airway Street overpass to the new trail, he said.
By Jeffrey Cunningham | jcunning@mlive.com
on April 10, 2017 at 11:00 AM, updated April 10, 2017 at 11:03 AM
Plainfield Township is getting a start on its campaign to add trails in the township by approving projects to build a couple of short connector trails.
The two projects will be financed through the township's new millage.
Last August voters in the township approved a 0.5-mill levy that is expected to generate $585,000 annually to be used to upgrade the township's public trails and public recreation spaces.
While the two projects are short connectors totaling less than 175 feet in length, they will allow for new paved connections to the White Pine Trail and, in one case, create a new, easily accessible trail head behind the Plainfield Township Hall.
"These are two 'quick hitters' that we can get done this summer that will connect neighborhoods to the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail," Bill Fischer, Plainfield Township community development director, said.
The two projects are currently being engineered but Fischer estimates the township will spend less than $150,000 on them.
The first of the two projects will connect the township hall's back parking lot to the trail, a distance of about 75 feet. In addition to the trail, a small picnic area will be installed with a covered picnic table.
The second project will connect the sidewalks along Rogue River Meadows Drive to the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail. Currently there is no connector and those wanting the reach the trail have to walk or ride in the Rogue River Road roadway.
The township hall connector will allow groups and others to use of the township's parking lot as a staging area and trail head for the trail.
While the Rouge River Park is just across the street from the township hall and has access to the trail, Township Manager Cameron VanWyngarden said the additional trail head behind the township hall will allow for small groups wishing to use the new connection as a staging area for their events to do so with out having to pay as they do when using the Rogue River county park.
Fischer said while the township will do the two small projects this year, they are already working with The Kent County Road Commission to design a non-motorized path along Jupiter Drive and across the Jupiter Drive Bridge over the Grand River.
"The path will eventually connect Plainfield Drive neighborhoods to the Wolverine Worldwide YMCA on Jupiter Drive," he said.
Fischer said he expects to have the plans and cost estimates for the Jupiter Drive trail project done later this year.
Fred Meijer White Pine Trail users often park their cars in the Plainfield Township parking lot and use this grass path to access the trail.The township will create a paved path from the parking lot to the trail later this summer.Jeffrey Cunningham|Mlive.com
August 07, 2016
By Jeffrey Cunningham | jcunning@mlive.com
PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP -- In what current Plainfield Township officials have called an "historic" vote, votershave approved the township's proposal for a 0.5-mill levy that is expected to generate $585,000 to be used to upgrade the township's public trails and public recreation spaces.
The vote was 2,921 to 2,594 in favor of the millage.
The trails millage is the first dedicated millage to have been put to a vote in the township's history.
Township officials have cautioned residents from expecting trail improvements from taking place in the near future. "It will be 2017 before we receive any funding from the millage so it will be at least next year before any construction can happen, so I am hesitant to even guess at a timeline," said Township Superintendent Cameron VanWyngarden.
He said the township has a map of the trails they would like to improve but that map is just a list of trails and lines on a map. "The passing of the millage means that we can start the planning process in earnest," he said.
Link to video on Link to Fox 17 page
Fox 17 West Michigan BY BOB BRENZING
PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Plainfield Township is proposing a new "parks and rec" millage on their residents' voting ballot August 2nd.
See millage language here.
The proposal would expand public trails connecting to the White Pine Trail, parks, downtown, and work to make some roads, like Jupiter Avenue, safer. In all, about 30 more miles of trails would be added.
Plainfield Township Manager Cameron Van Wyngarden says when their parks and recreation department redid their master plan in 2015, a survey polled residents who responded saying wanting more safe trails was their top wish.
The millage is for .5 mils, and if passed a homeowner with a home worth $200,000 would pay about $50 per year more in taxes. Van Wyngarden says the Township hopes to finance the trails from the additional taxes as well as state and federal grants equally.
By Jeffrey Cunningham | jcunning@mlive.com
April 20, 2016 at 3:20 PM
PLAINFIELD -- The Plainfield Township Board has voted to do something unique in the history of the township -- ask township residents if they want to approve a dedicated tax levy.
The board voted unanimously on Monday, April 18, to approve placing a request for a 0.5-mill, dedicated non-motorized public trails and public recreation millage on the Aug. 2 primary election ballot.
"This is unprecedented as far as I know," said Bob Homan, a former township manager who has been a township resident for the last 18 years. "There never has been a special millage. Now you have the opportunity to place an issue before the residents to see if they want to pay for more amenities. I have my own opinion. (This vote) speaks well for the democracy in this part of the world."
The request is for the years 2016 to 2025 and would raise an estimated $584,000 annually. According to Bill Fischer, Community Development director, the millage would cost the owner of a home with a $200,000 market value roughly $50 annually in additional property taxes.
The proposal states the Township Board would have the final say on any expenditures from the millage.
An updated map of the townships trails show there is an additional 30 miles of trails and pathways that need to be constructed to fully connect the township's trail system internally and with other trails, like the Fred Mejier White Pine Trail.
Fischer said the cost for building trails ranges from $150,000 per mile for trails built with few challenges to more than $500,000 per mile for trails built where there are challenges. "The millage language specifically indicates the funds will be used for the improvement, operation, and maintenance of the non-motorized public trails and recreation areas," he said.
After the meeting, Homan, who is credited with moving the township to install miles of sidewalks and trails, said he will support the measure and thinks that it would be good for the residents of the township.
Even Trustee Jonathan Rathbun, who frequently opposes township spending plans, voted to place the issue on the ballot while at the same time noting that his vote to do so didn't mean he supported passage of the millage.
"Speaking as someone who is politically conservative," he said, "I do feel much more comfortable with this as far as the feedback we have gotten. We are approving this to go to the voters." Rathbun noted he had a chance to get out on the White Pine Trail recently and biked to Rockford. "I look forward to having a destination here in the township," he said.
Used by permission from Mlive.com
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