Greetings TARTans,
Last week we got some great news. US Representative Bergman's office let us know that funding they had secured to help move the Three Mile Trail Extension forward was looking like it could make its way here. With the stroke of President Biden's pen on Friday, it was for real. The trail is a game changer for our region, and a life changer for the residents of the Three Mile/Hammond corridor and the 2400+ students it will connect. Last summer the East Bay Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved the conceptual design for the trail and approved plans for Safe Routes to School improvements. The Board's votes signaled they wanted to change the way the corridor feels and functions with a vision of safe and comfortable ways to travel outside of your car, new ways to explore the area's natural areas and watersheds, convenient and accessible opportunities to improve health and wellness, and meaningful potential for economic development. The good news we celebrate today is thanks to years of hard work by committed community partners who worked on the ground together including East Bay Township, TART Trails, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, Norte, TCAPS, and the Grand Traverse County Road Commission. Elected officials who were willing to step up and provide leadership. Catalytic donors who provided significant funding to get the project rolling and keep it going. And most of all its thanks to residents and advocates like you who spoke up and showed up to support a stronger, healthier, more connected community. We're excited to get working on the next phase of Three Mile Trail. We've got hard work ahead but with this same committed community coming together, we know the change that's truly possible. 


Julie Clark, Chief Executive Officer

NEWS TO KNOW

Acme Connector Trail
Imagine an entire region linked with safe, comfortable, and convenient corridors to take you where you want to go by foot or by bike, connecting you to the people and places you love and inviting you to explore and experience places beyond. Under contract and officially breaking ground this spring, the 1.8-mile Acme Connector Trail will provide the critical infrastructure for you to do just that. Extending from the current TART terminus at Bunker Hill Road, residents and visitors will be able to safely access Acme Township businesses, existing trails, and recreation opportunities. This trail also functions as the southernmost section of the Nakwema Trailway - a generational asset connecting each community it runs through and more than twenty-five natural areas. 

Three Mile Trail Extension
Earlier this month we received the news from Rep Bergman's office that TART Trails is included in the most recent federal spending bill approved by Congress for $900,000 for the Three Mile Trail Extension. The bill has been signed by President Joe Biden and we'll be working with staff from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on funding allocation. The conceptual plan for the Three Mile Trail extension was unanimously approved by East Bay Township last August. The great funding news allows TART and the Township to move forward with the next phase of design engineering. Many thanks to our community partners in East Bay Township, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, and Norte. We are excited about the 2400+ students soon connected and the opportunities the trail will provide to support the economic, health, and environmental goals of our region.

Calling All Artists!
The Traverse City Arts Commission and TART Trails have a continued partnership to install public art at key nodes and trailheads along the trail. This collaboration will bring recreation and the arts together to enhance the trail experience and add to Traverse City’s unique sense of place. We are currently seeking artist applicants for an installation at Sixteenth Street, which will be the second of two art installations along the Boardman Lake Loop Trail in the past twelve months. For more information, and to apply, please visit tcpublicart.org.

SPONSOR SHOUT OUT



We are so very grateful for our friends and Grooming Program sponsors (and Nakwema Trailway neighbors) at Short's Brewing. Not only do these guys brew delicious beers with fantastic names, they also totally get trails. They believe in the health, wealth and happiness they provide, in the connections they create, and the communities they enhance. 

"Folks may know us for our summer season, but us locals know that winter is just as amazing. And thanks to all the hard work of the TART groomers, we can enjoy our awesome natural resources (in pristine conditions) 365 days a year. We know it's a labor of love, and we couldn't be prouder to support the women and men that brave the blizzards and the freezing temps to keep our trails awesome. Thanks for all you do!"

- Joe Short, Founder and Creative Mastermind, Short's Brewing

UPCOMING EVENTS

TART TRIVIA

Do you know how many Art on the TART installations currently exist along the TART Trails network? 
The answer is 5. It's a bit of a trick question though, as some of the works include multiple pieces. The 5 current installations include:

Time to Let Go sculpture | Traverse Area Recreational Trail, The Open Space
The Solar System | Traverse Area Recreational Trail
David Petrakovitz Collection | Boardman Lake Loop Trail, Oryana Triangle
Conservation Conversation | Boardman Lake Trail, 10th St Trailhead
The Dancers | Leelanau Trail, Shady Lane Trailhead