Growing Urban Sprawl

Just as with any location in the United States these days, the Upper Peninsula isn't immune to the problem of urban sprawl. Obviously it's not a problem for the entire peninsula - and it may only be an issue for one city in particular. But yes, urban sprawl does exist even in the U.P. The one location I am talking about is the city of Marquette and Marquette Township. I am sure that most people know that Marquette is the biggest city in the Upper Peninsula with a population of around 20,000 people. Yes, it's still not a very large city by most people's standards, but it is such in the U.P. Within the last two decades, more and more big box retailers have been opening their doors within the Marquette area. The city itself doesn't really have any buildable land along and near the highway anymore, so most of these large stores are building out in the township. And they are continuing to build westward further out into the township. It's an issue that many people saw coming but maybe not as fast as its started.

Within the past few decades, we've had companies like Wal-Mart, Target, Menards, and Lowe's build stores in Marquette Township. Those stores take up a lot of real estate within the township. Tractor Supply Company erected a store in nearby Negaunee Township which is just a few short miles from Marquette Township. Now, Best Buy is currently in the process of building a store along the highway - it being the furthest store west on the corridor. And I'm sure more stores will spring up eventually along the way. It's great to see companies still investing in our area even in today's tough economic times. And these stores are bringing with them jobs that are sorely needed. Do they pay great? No, but at least it's something. However, with urban sprawl comes other issues.

For one, traffic has increased quite substantially along the US-41/M-28 corridor. During peak traffic periods, the highway can get pretty jam packed and it can be quite difficult to cross the highway and get to where you need to go. Along the north side of the highway, there are enough access routes away from the highway so that you don't have to keep going on and off the busy corridor. However, the south side of the highway, where Wal-Mart and Menards are, there aren't any access routes between stores, so you need to go on and get off the highway in order to access these stores. That stop and go traffic can get to be quite hazardous. Then you consider the 50 MPH speed limit through the highway and the Michigan Lefts to boot, you really have to be paying attention to what the other people are doing. But that's not to say the 41 corridor is an accident magnet. It's actually been a pretty safe stretch thus far despite the increase in traffic.

Another side effect to the urban sprawl is the increasing presence of commercial properties being developed within former residential areas along the highway. First off, it's not like highway was lined with subdivision after subdivision. But there have been a few homes here and there that are now suddenly surrounded by these mammoth buildings. More often than not the people that lived in these homes feel suffocated and move away. There have been plenty of complaints from people within Marquette Township who may live near the highway but live off a side road about these mega-stores moving in. They may live far enough away, yet they still feel the effects when these stores start building. In the case of Best Buy, they are digging out the side of a hill for their store along the highway and are needing to blast large amounts of rock. The property is actually a corner lot also being along a side road. Yes, there are homes along the side road who are now having to deal with these blasts going off at different times during the day along with the heavy amount of earthwork that's currently going on. And once the store is officially open, they'll need to deal with traffic near the intersection to the highway. It may be a good thing for the area that this store is opening, but it's got to be hard for those people living along that side road. Their lives are changing with the addition of this new store just down the road from them.

So as you can see, even in the city of Marquette and the township, they are dealing with big city problems. But yet again, these stores are bringing new jobs with them in addition to increasing the tax base within the township. So it's not all bad. With any big store that moves in, there are pros and cons. Hopefully everyone is able to maintain somewhat of a positive outlook on the urban sprawl that exists within the Marquette area.