Directing more resources toward long-lasting repairs or replacement of roads is necessary. Meanwhile, curb cuts at every corner improve accessibility, bike lines support safer cycling, and bus shelters make using public transit more convenient. Gawron: Pere Marquette Park is symbolic of all that is going well in the community. And it has a darn good BBQ joint drawing in locals and out-of-towners. No other Michigan city has its entire front porch and Great Lakes waterfront publicly owned.
A successful traffic circle design has addressed traffic issues. Paid parking for non-resident visitors will provide funding for park improvements throughout the city. Our over three miles of public beach are a treasure where changes should be respectful to the environment, well-thought-out, and incremental.
Still, we can find balance, so that commercial activity may occur, providing business opportunities, creating jobs, and enhancing the beach-going experience. I remain steadfastly opposed to replacing critical dunes with asphalt for motorhomes.
I support working with residents. Many residents want to help with such. What do you think about the course downtown development is taking, and what else would you like to see there? Gawron: Post-Muskegon Mall speaks for itself. There is a need for continued work to provide improved linkage to the waterfront as well as engage private waterfront property owners and developers to envision public access opportunities as we imagine better access between downtown and Muskegon Lake.
Our best practices adopted in urban design through Form Based Code emphasize the mixed used of residential and commercial development. Only through residential growth can we hope to draw new amenities and services and not be left like other downtown centers with empty office towers, especially post-COVID.
Residents bring life, energy, and continual human presence where the street becomes our outdoor living room. Focusing on the pedestrian experience at a human scale can provide the energy for unique commercial development.
Keeping money in our local economy has a multiplier effect that supports more lives and livelihoods. Since serving on the city commission, Mayor Gawron has provided the progressive leadership needed as the city and the entire Muskegon community moves through a historic transformation of growth and revival. Mayor Gawron has focused on the preservation of key public services and stability of city finances. Through his tenure, the city has remained solvent and services maintained at the highest possible levels, despite the Great Recession of and its aftermath.
Programs such as community policing and social justice engagement have been expanded and are recognized nationally. Mayor Gawron recognizes that advanced manufacturing is critical to the city as investment and employment continue to expand with a high level of collaboration with the private sector. Additional partnerships with governmental and private economic development agencies and the private sector are being expanded to position Muskegon as a multi-modal transportation hub, taking advantage of its one-of-a-kind Great Lakes deep-water port.
Current redevelopment of the city began in its downtown, which in was left bare with the demolition of the former Muskegon Mall; only five buildings remained in the acre downtown central business district. The mayoral term is four years. Related: Muskegon mayor faces challenge from city commissioner in upcoming election. Johnson also is vice president of the Nims Neighborhood Association, of which he has been a member for nine years. Johnson told MLive progress in the city is more than new buildings, but an improvement in the lives of everyone, including those who have been marginalized.
He said earlier that his priorities will be transparent, efficient and accountable governance; improvement of parks and recreation opportunities; and making streets safer by eliminating unmarked intersections, improving lighting and addressing gun violence. He called for more inclusion in the growth and success of the downtown by better integrating it with Midtown and the Pine Street corridor.
There are a few things these candidates agree on: they love Muskegon, and are excited about where the city is going. Stephen Gawron says his family is ready to work for the place he loves and continue the growth and prosperity the city has seen. Gawron touts the growth of downtown and affordable housing as accomplishments the city has achieved together under his leadership.
And the engagement of the people that live here. Gawron's challenger Ken Johnson has spent eight years on the city commission. He says it's time for a change. Johnson says the city hasn't always followed its own policies. Johnson says he's kept the money he's spent printing campaign items local.
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