Cedar's Red Bridge Is Back; Waterway & Park Project Forges Ahead

Cedar’s iconic pedestrian/snowmobile bridge was refurbished and returned to its place on the river, with a rededication ceremony planned for September 19. Meanwhile, a public meeting to share next steps for the newly named Cedar River Waterway & Park Project, including upgrading the aging embankment walls and decking and making the Cedar River boat launch facilities universally accessible, was held last week via Zoom.

The Solon Township meeting was hosted by Fleis & VandenBrink (F&V), Inc. at the request of the Township Board of Trustees and the Cedar River Park Committee in order to get public input and incorporate key takeaways into the Township Park’s master plan. Engineer Larry Fleis, a Cedar native and co-founder of F&V, and F&V landscape architect Rick Stout are consultants on the multi-phase project.

The Cedar River Waterway & Park Project is a rebrand of what was formerly called the Cedar River Marina Project. Stout said this change was because “marina upgrades” had a connotation that there would be boats slips.

“This is not what the project is,” explained Stout. “It’s a project to repair and enhance many of the existing elements that are already in the park and it’s really about promoting universal access.”

Ray Pleva, chairman of the Waterway & Park Project, and who has been instrumental in the grassroots improvement initiative since its impetus three years ago, reiterates to the Leelanau Ticker, “there are no boat slips planned for this project. People can tie up parallel to the shoreline, similar to the way public boaters do along the Leland River in the area around the library. Boaters can stop and walk into Cedar for ice cream or go to the bar for lunch.”

Ultimately the project will improve access for all to the three-mile river and wilderness sanctuary that winds into Lake Leelanau. Pleva also emphasizes that the entire three miles is a “no-wake zone” that minimizes impact from the boats or small watercraft on the wildlife and natural resources of the river.

The project calls for an upgraded boat launch; a kayak/canoe launch; dredging; a universal lift; a new dock; decking; and embankment walls along the Cedar River.

“What Cedar has now is a 37-year-old project that has outlived most of its useful life,” Fleis shared at the public meeting. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources paid for the initial park project in 1983, including dredging, an embankment wall and decks. The river basin area on the north side of the park has become laden with silt and vegetation, limiting the shore access and some of the river access components are not safe.

Fleis added, “This just isn’t about access to the river. You’ve got the community using the common facilities of the Cedar Community Park — the restrooms, parking and pavilions. At some point, you have to make repairs.”

Kelly Claar, chairman of Solon Township’s all-volunteer parks committee — which doesn’t have a maintenance budget — agrees: “The whole park improvement project is to replace facilities that have outlived their useful life. Cedar is a small town with a big park. If you don’t spend a little bit of money regularly, you may end up spending a lot of money getting them back up to speed.”

Stout said, “This is the beginning of the process. There will be other public meetings to get input for the various phases of the project.”

Final design won’t begin until funding is identified for each phase.

Funding — and fundraising — are the operative words: The Cedar River Waterway & Park Project, under its previous name, is the same one the Michigan House and Senate Legislature approved for a big boost in state funding — $950,000 in upgrades — in mid-March. However, Senate Bill 151, a supplemental funding plan, was ultimately not signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Pleva is undeterred. “I’d like to see the project done tomorrow, but we’re in the process of looking at local funding, foundation funding, and we are also going to be pursuing it again with the state, plus with federal funding.”

He hopes there are people locally who will donate directly to the project and invites them to see “what an asset we have here in the center of Leelanau County.” 

Township trustee Ron Novak, who also attended the meeting, said, “I just want everyone to understand that this is not just a waterway for canoes and kayaks, it’s for the general public and the water belongs to all the people in Michigan. It’s always been a diamond in the rough, an asset to the community, and it’s one that we haven’t taken advantage of.”

Pleva adds, “When people travel down it whether by boat or paddleboard or canoe, once they go around that first corner, they say ‘wow, you are in a different world.’ I know there are people in Cedar, the surrounding area of Cedar, and the county, who have never been on the river. Our goal here is that no one gets left behind.”

A ribbon-cutting for the bridge — the first of many phases of the improvement project — will be held at noon September 19 on the Cedar River, with Reverend Kenneth Stachnik attending to bless the bridge and park, and Ramona Pleva singing the national anthem. A mini concert performed by Fleis, who is part of the Michigan polka band Larry & His Larks, and other family members will follow.

Photo: The red Cedar River pedestrian bridge was recently refurbished, repainted and reset over the river as the first of many proposed improvements. Courtesy F&V.