The same numbskulls running the City who continue to defy the FIOA laws are again trying to alter the West end of Ludington Ave. They just won't give up. They continue to try and waste the taxpayers money. 

"A proposal to make major changes to the west end of Ludington Avenue is scheduled to come back to the Ludington City Council Monday and the council could set public hearings in March to learn reactions of residents to the idea of seeking grant money from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to pay for those changes.

The council has discussed the issue many times in the past and has sought grant money for the work, with the hope this might be the year the work is funded.

One phase of the project that has been planned for several years is building a concrete walkway along the beach in front of the dune between the Ludington North Breakwater and the west end of Ludington Avenue, where the pavement ends, plus a portion of the promenade area where the avenue ends.

Another idea the council has discussed in the past would close off the westernmost block of the street to vehicles and pave it with bricks, add short shrubs and create a paved area where tents could be erected and parties held."

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The people that want this change are driven by greed, grant coveting, and to a lesser extent, the desire for more control over the park.  Not on their list is preserving the natural beauty; nope, they want to throw a semi-permanent pavilion out at the end of the avenue and have regular events largely funded by your tax dollars held there, level the sand dunes, put in a concrete walkway with lights on it.  In other words, destroy what it is.

The dunes and the undeveloped lakeshore is an eyesore from their perspective, a place where dull people go to swim, sunbathe or just park their car and look at the lakefront.  These are the same morons who think the beach rangers make the beach safer than a certified crew of lifeguards.  A special kind of stupid. 

Hey Willy, if you can put some of these beautiful photos of yours enlarged and on poster board, I would be honored to use them as visual aids for when I rail against this change at the next two meetings.

What the COL is telling us thru Shyster Shay III is that summer events at the end of West Lud. Ave. for the tourists is more important that the love locals have to let that area remain natural. We must close that last block off and put grandstands in with a large area designated for tented events like Gus Macker, 1/2 marathon runs, triathalons, beer festivals, and more important stuff that tourists enjoy. No more fishing and sunbathing away from the busier main beach, this too must be infiltrated and destroyed for tourism. I'll bet half the tourists would almost agree to leave it natural. But, they probably don't even know this is going to happen. Like Krauch said abouit the RIP, it's a done deal, don't fight it, you're wasting your time.

Dianne

No one I know says the West End doesn't need a upgrading. The industrial strength highway barriers that line this area are an eyesore and out of place in a beach/marine area.

On the other hand losing the parking spaces to turn this spot into a pedestrian area  was a plan conceived almost 20 years ago definitely is not the best use of this area either.

Neither is the $3,000,000 that the upgrades will cost

Times change.

The plans call for a sort of roundabout where the exit from Stearns Park meshes with Ludington Avenue. If you enter this half-azzed roundabout from any direction you can only exit south or east. I'm no traffic engineer but the bottleneck to traffic is one block east where Lakeshore Drive and Ludington Avenue meet. A roundabout here would let traffic flow in any direction.

They also plan to put a sidewalk across the boat launch area. It is problematic enough to be backing up your boat trailer without having little bubba running behind you oblivious to the danger.

There is more.

Losing the parking places next to the North breakwall including handicap parking.

Leaving only 8 spots dedicated for playground parking if that.

The flaws go on and on.

No, this area could be better utilized. 

But not with 20 year old ideas.

And not costing an additional $3,000,000.

Thanks Shinblind... I missed if mentioned before about the roundabout and the bottling up of traffic and idea of misguided tourists...

The area does need updating, but it's so bad as city left it to be dilapidated so to make their case for the DNR grant.  But shouldn't be removed from a more sensible use.

Lost parking spaces is biggest lost I think in West End.  Along with that easy drive-up to the view.  And unlike the city saying you 'll be able to do the same in Loomis Boat-Launch lot, you won't.  There are designed parking spaces next to beach area in NW corner of LBL lot.

And if they want a place for events tents and not close off West End like they already do now, why not make an area in NE corner of LBL lot..?

...Sorry I could go on and on about this... as I have in the past...

A roundabout at Lakeshore Drive and Ludington Avenue makes a lot of sense. The advantages are in no particular order

You could eliminate the left hand turn lane heading south on Lakeshore Drive. Also the stop sign there could be replace with a yield. The same on Lakeshore and Ludington heading north.

Traffic flowing from Stearns Park heading back north on to Lakeshore would mesh better than waiting to make a left hand turn.

Someone trailering a boat going to launch at Loomis would have it easier than the current plans of the proposed roundabout.

Pedestrian traffic would flow easier. The middle of the roundabout would give them sanctuary crossing the road in any direction.

It would enhance the looks of this area without blocking the view of the lake.

There would be no future need to put a traffic signal in this area.

Traffic going to the Maritime Museum  would flow better both entering and egressing.

I am sure there are more reasons.

The only disadvantage I see is a bruising the fragile egos of the proponents of the West End Scheme.

Very good idea Shinblind.

Verdad,

I've brought that vox populi (I know some Latin too) ingrained inside the city charter to the city council's attention over the last four years, without any kind of refutation by the City Attorney or pidgin-lawyer Krauch that this wasn't the case.  If the City plans on doing multi-million dollar improvements, which many people think are ill-conceived and contrary to what most people desire, they should try to be able to sell it to the people that will have to fund it, in one way or the other.  Then slap it on as a city proposal in the next regular election.  A few dollars of ink on a few thousand ballots, a few minutes of calculations by computers, is all it takes to get the people's opinion-- vox populi.

I don't want semi-permanent pavilions, nor rows of canoe racks, concession counters, and handi-capable kayak piers littering the west end of Ludington Avenue.  I don't think leveling the dune to put in a thick concrete walkway parallel to the beach, and then potentially losing that area of shoreline due to the need to put 'walkway erosion protection' measures into place.  I don't like the idea of stringing streetlights along the length of that walkway is conducive to the area's aesthetics.  As Brad says, I could go on and on, but I have no problem with the city putting in a few thousand to maintain the area we currently have, and would weigh any other kind of change if it really mattered what my and my fellow citizens' opinion meant, as the city charter says it does.

Aren't dunes protected in the State of Michigan? Can we get some other regulators to go after this ill-thought out plan? DEQ? EPA? ANYBODY? I KNOW - let's find an endangered species that is threatened by this project. Aren't those little sandpiper-like birds protected? I thought some of the plants are also protected? The milkweed is disappearing, causing the crash of the migratory monarchs. Perhaps this case can be made.

BTW, Aquaman, I would say that a lot of people who visit Ludington also love love love the dunes, beach, and fishing. If they want to play basketball, there's a huge paved over parking lot at the end of Loomis - why not use THAT? Better than paving over the natural beauty of the shoreline.

Here is a list of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Natural Resources  Trust Fund.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-65134_65142-39501--,00.html

While going to the city council meeting is a nice gesture, their mind is made up. The council sits up there looking disinterested because they truly are.They have already received their marching orders from above and will move in jackbooted unison to ram this proposal through.  I am certain the grant to the State has already been written weeks ago. Listening to the citizens voice their concerns about the West End Scheme is merely a dog and pony show for the benefit of the public. 

Write your letter to the decision makers on the board of the Trust Fund. Express your concerns about the West End Scheme. Tell them why you consider it a faulty plan and that it will result in reduced recreational activities for the general public  Try not to be too wordy or go off on a tangent about other local issues.

Or call them if you are more comfortable communicating that way.

Screw the city council. Work around them. Reach out to the ultimate decision makers. I am certain that they will be more open to listening to your concerns. Grassroots opposition goes a long way.

It is just a matter of timing. Get your thoughts together. Contact them for certain when the city submits the grant.  

That's a good idea too shinblind. Since you are the fountainhead of this idea, why not put it into action? By that I mean get a public petition going both online and in person, circulate the petition, and see how many signatures we can get. Then this document can be presented by certified mail to the DNR Trust Fund Committee, as well as the City Council at the next meetings set for this agenda. I would ask and get Willy's permission to use his pictures as a backdrop for this, so people know exactly what we are talking about. I'm sure I could get you a few dozen signatures to begin with to get you started too. Let us know.

We will sign it and ask those we know to sign it also. You are right, action needs to happen. Just like voting, if you don't vote you cant complain. There is a lot of heat on Ludington with the pm bayou, lead in children, wwtp without a permit, etc. It is time to pile on and get things fixed. The state sees the mess there and in time will step in. But you need to also step up and fight for your cause! They can not do anything to you for voicing your opinion thanks to our constitution that was written by absolutely no one from the COL government! Let their negative, RIP type of comments fuel your fire, they are humans just like you, and although they think so, are not better than you or I and definitely not looked on upon as better than us.

I highly recommend this page to ALSO make a complaint

http://www.michigan.gov/som/0,1607,7-192-29701_29702---,00.html

You will be heard and answered! Also use facebook and comment on these officals pages, some of them are very happy to respond and lead you to help. Just remember it takes time for a response but don't give up!

Be professional, not angry and accusative!

The city council has already weighed in on it, so if you do go to these meetings and speak up at the public hearing you may be content in knowing that they effectively ignore your pleas.  But your voice will be noted in the minutes against this, and part of the documentation sent to the state for their consideration.  The last few years, I have pestered the state about this plan and how unpopular it is among the citizens and visitors of Ludington. 

I welcome any and all people who rise up against it at the council meeting and to the state government after the grant application is sent there in April.  It may be a great time to start a petition then to combat this intrusion.

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