Today we received an update on the status of the Platte River Park from Ingemar Johansson, founder and President of the non-profit Honor Area Restoration Project ("HARP").
HARP is a non-political, community-minded organization with an all-volunteer board dedicated to the betterment of the Honor area. In addition to such projects as the removal of the old "question mark" building, for the last several years the group has been involved in the development of a park along the upper Platte River. With the help of Traverse City Rotary the group arranged for the acquisition of a $300,000 parcel along the river and the development of a master plan. More recently the project was the beneficiary of a $150,000 recreation passport grant from the Michigan DNR.
According to Ingemar, the grant will help complete the western entrance to the park from Indian Hill Road. Plans for the western entrance include a driveway, parking space, vault toilet, kayak launch, fishing platforms and a boardwalk.
Future plans include an entrance from US-31 and some recreational facilities, ending up with a non-motorized, ADA-compatible trail system through the park.