Posted on June 21, 2023
Efforts are underway in Michigan to revitalize one of Stevensville’s treasures.
The Lincoln Township Beach has been closed for almost three years after high water levels in 2019 damaged parts of it. Stevensville officials have high hopes for a major overhaul.
2020 was the year the beach closed, and what used to be bustling with folks now lies a former shell of what it used to be.
The beach is technically still available for public use. However, deteriorating conditions made it a bit difficult for anyone wanting to visit. High water levels made for unfit parking conditions, and mother nature eroded half of the parking lot and pavilion.
It’s about a half-mile trek from the main road to the beach, as half of the beach’s parking lot fell victim to erosion. Now, the road leading to the beach is closed off due to traffic concerns, so walking is the only option.
But in an effort to save one of Stevensville’s only public beaches, city officials say they’re putting together plans to revive it.
“We plan on doing that by creating back in an area that is to the east of me right now, a flatter area, an area that is not regulated under the Michigan Critical Dunes Act, a parking turnaround,” said Marc Florian, Lincoln Charter Township Board of Trustees.
Right now, the city is waiting on the approval of the project from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. It’s something they say they hope to start work on soon with proper funding.
“We’re also reaching out to a lot of local businesses and potential partners in this endeavor,” Florian told 16 News Now.“This endeavor, if it is approved, is going to require funding. We’ve set aside in our township a certain amount of our ARPA funding that we received from the federal government and will probably Lu be reaching out to the state and other private interests as well in hopes of being able to find this whole thing without using taxpayer dollars.”
Plans call for a new parking lot a bit further away from the shore as well as updates to the restroom facilities and walkways.
It’s all in an effort to make for an accessible beach for families. City leaders tell me that they hope to have permits in hand by this fall, bidding in winter, and construction is done just in time for summer of next year.
