Parks & Recreation Five Year Recreation Plan ... - City of Marquette

Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update 2011
City of Marquette
use path along the entire length of the City‘s Lake Superior waterfront links all of these
recreational opportunities together.
The waterfront parks in Marquette serve the community in several capacities:
As regional parks or destinations, the Marquette waterfront parks and open space attract
area residents from outside the city, as well as tourists and other community visitors.
The waterfront parks serve as community or neighborhood parks, providing play areas
as well as picnic, beach and other recreational activities. These parks are reasonably
and safely accessible from most of the city‘s neighborhoods.
The waterfront parks are really part of an overall community green space or linear park
network.
As a defining feature of the City of Marquette, the City should continue to improve and enhance
the waterfront park system as well as the shared-use path which links these green spaces. In
addition, the city should continue efforts with the proposed land swap with the United States
Government which will add the former Coast Guard Station and Lighthouse property to the
waterfront park system.
Park Needs in the Southwest
Due to the growth of single-family housing and multi-family dwellings in the south and southwest
part of Marquette, an additional neighborhood or community park will be needed in the future.
This growing area along the McClellan Avenue corridor and the already-developed
neighborhoods south of the bypass are somewhat isolated from the existing waterfront park
network. Safe access to these parks becomes more difficult for children on foot or bicycles.
The City of Marquette acquired a large tract of land that expands from the south edge of
Marquette into Sands and Marquette Townships for future development and recreational open
space purposes. In 2010, the Heartwood Forestland Ad-Hoc Committee completed a study
identifying areas of potential development, conservation and potential partnerships for the
development and maintenance of recreation facilities on the property. As previously stated in
Chapter 3, the report recommended approximately 930 acres for development, approximately
1,063 areas for conservation and public recreation and approximately 250 acres for deferred
development. Based on the recommendations in the report, a detailed Master Plan for the
acquired land is important at this time and should accomplish the following:
Identify important existing trail networks as well as other desirable trail links and systems
to be preserved for recreational use prior to development.
Identify specific locations with suitable soils, slopes and other physical characteristics for
residential and other development.
Identify locations for at least one neighborhood park.
Consider redevelopment options for the old landfill site west of McClellan Avenue.
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