BACKGROUND:
The Platt Road Greenway II (PRGII) will consist of a ten (10) foot wide paved pathway on the west side of Platt Road between Michigan Avenue and Wall Park, located approximately 1000’ north of Bemis Road. It will leverage an existing mid-block crossing at Hidden Creek and install two more: one at Township Hall and a second one at Wall Park, both with a mast arm LED cross-walk illumination and Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) to provide for safe access to and from the parks for area residents and for early warning to oncoming vehicular traffic.
PRGII will provide a seamless connection from the Township’s southernmost park, Wall Park, to the existing network of over 11 miles of Pittsfield’s greenways. It will provide benefits for thousands of residents who live along or in the immediate vicinity of Michigan, Platt, Textile, and Merritt Roads with seamless non-motorized connectivity to nearly 600 acres of recreational spaces including Prairie Park, Pittsfield Preserve, Lillie Park, Marsh View Meadows Park, and the historic districts we have established including the Sutherland-Wilson Farm Museum and Harwood Heritage Farm. The non-motorized network will connect into the B2B Trail and, by extension, the Iron Belle Trail. Such connectivity provides the option to choose active means of transportation to travel within the township and to regional destinations.
The PRGII provides a new connection between the Pittsfield Township Administration Building, which – among other services – hosts the Farmers Market and supports a community garden, and Wall Park. It will also connect users south of Michigan Avenue to the 535-acre Pittsfield Preserve, two historic districts (Sutherland-Wilson Farmstead, Harwood Heritage Farm), five parks (Wall Park, Woolley Park, Marshview Meadows Park, Prairie Park, and Lillie Park) that house a variety of sports fields, trails and play areas, and the Multicultural Academy.
It will, for the first time, provide non-motorized access from south of Michigan Ave to a northern boundary of Pittsfield, connecting the City of Saline’s Tefft Park and Recreation Center to the west, along with a multitude of recreational destinations in the City of Ann Arbor including, but not limited to, the B2B Trail, Iron Belle Trail, Gallup Park, and Nichols Arboretum. In the future, the network will extend further south on Platt Road to the City of Milan and east to WCPARC’s Rolling Hills County Park, which will eventually promote a connection to the B2B trail in Ypsilanti, creating a large regional network of non-motorized pathways.
PRGII will be designed utilizing environmentally friendly features such as infiltration trenches for collection of stormwater run-off and water quality measures. The infiltration trenches will be designed according to the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commission (WCWRC) standards. They will be placed in low areas where soil conditions and space allow.
Due to the location of the pathway within the road right-of-way, minimal trees and wetlands of a low-quality nature are expected to be impacted, and permits will be obtained for any such impacts. Wetlands will be avoided where possible. In addition, the pathway location follows an existing sidewalk alignment for several hundred feet, minimizing grading and natural feature impacts.
The Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission has awarded Pittsfield Township a $250,000 grant for the construction of the Platt Road Greenway II.
Pittsfield Township has received additional funding for the PRGII project through the SEMCOG Transportation Alternatives Program for the 2021 fiscal year of approximately $1.0 million.