Archived News Release: July 23, 2019 - The City of Ann Arbor is pleased to announce that two projects have been recognized by the Michigan Chapter of the American Planning Association for planning excellence. The Treeline-Allen Creek Urban Trail Master Plan has been selected as the winner of the 2019 Transportation Planning award and the city's “Impacting Your City" project as the winner of its 2019 Public Outreach award. Selected by a jury of planning professionals, the awards will be presented at a ceremony on Sept. 25, 2019.
The Treeline project, which created a plan to transform the area along Allen Creek for a new non-motorized transportation path, was a collaborative effort that brought together city staff, community members, elected officials, businesses and local organizations.
“The Ann Arbor community should be very proud of these awards," noted Heather Seyfarth, City of Ann Arbor systems planning analyst. “For the Treeline, it recognizes years of hard work by community members to honor Allen Creek and create something both beautiful and functional for the benefit of all who live in and visit Ann Arbor."
“The granting of this award to The Treeline Master Plan honors the City of Ann Arbor, the Treeline Conservancy and, of most importance, the many individuals that have shared this vision and worked with unwavering dedication to give it life," said Joe O'Neal, Treeline Conservancy Board of Directors member. “The plan provides a solid foundation on which to build and make real that vision — a vision which gets closer to reality each day."
“Impacting Your City" is a city-piloted, youth engagement initiative, via a semester-long high school course, designed to enable meaningful youth participation in city planning initiatives and to encourage lifelong, active interest in the democratic process.
“Youth involvement is critical to meaningful and effective community engagement," explained Seyfarth, who is also the project lead for “Impacting Your City." “The city is incredibly fortunate to have the bright and motivated students of Community High School as a resource and partner. We look forward to working with Community High again this fall and looking for new and creative ways to expand our youth engagement efforts."
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