A few decades ago, Lake St. Clair was a place that we took for granted. For many of us, as kids, it was a forbidding place.
Gaining access to the lake on a summer day, when the water wasn’t polluted, required a long, sweaty bike ride to Metro Beach. Sometimes my friends and I would ride straight down Martin Road, sneak behind the St. Clair Shores VFW hall, and take the plunge.
That was the extent of our enjoyment of the Lake St. Clair waters. If you had a boat, you surely didn’t live in my neighborhood. If you had a friend with a boat, you were the luckiest kid for miles around.
As I became an adult, I envied and resented the lake access reserved for the few – homeowners who lived on the water or people who could gain entrance to the residents-only beaches. I came to understand that many of the small homes on the water, especially in Harrison Township, were former summer “cottages” for the rich in Detroit and the Grosse Pointes.
Obviously, this was a short-sighted, nonsensical approach toward using valuable land – the result of typically poor planning by Macomb County officials decades ago, long before they could ever imagine sprawling marinas or mini-mansions featuring 10 different views of the water.
Worse yet, a drive along Jefferson still offers barely a glimpse of the lake -- all the way from Eight Mile to the road’s abrupt terminus at South River Road.
I don’t think the lake was widely viewed as a county “asset” until the massive pollution outbreak of 1994 shook us all. In time, those working to clean up Lake St. Clair labeled it a “jewel.”
And now we know that our jewel could bring us a whole lot of money.
On the heels of County Executive Mark Hackel’s 3-year effort to promote a new “Blue Economy” for Macomb, a study released this past week found that enhancing Michigan’s Blue Economy could generate billions of dollars in economic activity and tens of thousands of jobs.
In Macomb County, we are perfectly positioned to take full advantage. Finally, “cleaning up” could have a positive connotation, and green might no longer be the color of our water but the hue of the money in our pockets.
A report issued by the Michigan Economic Center found that the state’s Blue Economy supports nearly 1 million jobs and $60 billion of economic activity annually. The center also predicts that Michigan’s water-based economic engine is just getting started.
The factors at play consist of traditional commercial shipping, recreational boating and fishing. But the study, authored by John Austin, president of the State Board of Education and an impressive policy analyst, also found that a “fast-growing water technology sector” may make some waves. This sector centers on fledgling research companies working with universities on new conservation and purification techniques.
Macomb Community College resides within this mix of brain power, working with Wayne State University on a new water-based curriculum for students. Our county should have a leg up on the competition across Michigan and the Great Lakes Midwest because we can offer firms the opportunity to work with U.S. Army scientists and engineers at Warren’s Tank-Automotive Command, or TACOM, where Pentagon research in water quality technologies is ongoing.
But in Macomb County, our biggest advantages lie in basic recreation, day-tourism and life-on-the-water amenities.
Geography may be our greatest asset.
The Clinton River and its chain of public parks – Riverbends, Heritage, Dodge, Freedom Hill (on the Red Run), Budd, Canal, George George, Shadyside -- could offer an abundance of canoeing and kayaking attractions. River travelers already compare the best scenery on the Clinton to traversing the Au Sable River in northern Michigan.
On Lake St. Clair, the impressive vistas, world-class fishing and premier boating experiences represent another huge draw. The award-winning restoration of the Point Rosa marsh at Lake St. Clair Metropark (formerly Metro Beach) will attract nature lovers and bird watchers from across the Great Lakes State with its boardwalk and observation decks.
That’s a good start. But the county, following Hackel’s lead, could do so much more.
If Macomb provided more public access and recreational events along the lakeshore, the payoff would be dramatic. Every step of the way, the economic ripples would be felt far and wide.
Imagine rental businesses along the coastline that featured Wave Runners, para-sailing, water skiing, boat rides or charter-fishing expeditions.
I can envision a massive pier stretching out into the lake for a quarter mile or more, similar to the iconic Santa Monica Pier in southern California.
Boardwalks, bike paths, nature trails, more sandy beaches – these are the assets that will kick-start the still-struggling local economy by attracting thousands of people here on a weekly basis. And some of these people will buy into the slogan, “Make Macomb Your Home.” After all, this would be a great place to live.
Proceeding with a hike/bike path connection along the Selfridge Base shoreline would also pay dividends. Redoubling efforts to woo more development to the Nine Mile Pier area could be a game-changer.
We already boast of large, sprawling marinas with an array of summertime amenities for members and a few festivals for the public. Perhaps the county could subsidize boat fuel at lakefront locations – a savings of about 20 cents per gallon – on a rotating basis to attract boaters from Oakland County, St. Clair County, the Downriver area and Canada.
Clearly, boosting any section of the waterfront follows the mantra that a rising tide lifts all boats.
The ultimate step for the Hackel administration would require boldly engaging in home buyouts or condemnation proceedings on the lakefront. That’s the only way to break the poorly planned lockout of the shoreline and open up new land for development.
Luxury condos and a resort hotel could emerge. High-rise apartments would offer views of the local waterways, boating, shipping and bird life that would trump nearly any other location in southeast Michigan.
The over-sized ponds in Oakland County that L. Brooks Patterson calls lakes are no match for our Lake St. Clair.
On the Clinton River, the county could launch a bidding competition for canoe/kayak liveries that would provide a number of choices on which section of the Clinton visitors want to travel. Food stands offering everything from ice cream to hot dogs to veggie pita sandwiches could set up shop at each river access area.
In addition, the river canoeing experience could be tied to the fall Cider Season at Yates Cider Mill. Throughout much of the year, the physically fit could engage in combined biking/canoeing day-long trips.
Think of the possibilities if the dormant Freedom Hill County Park revived its small festival stage to present occasional Saturday afternoon concerts – maybe local acoustic duos or trios – that would be accessible by canoe or bike.
All of this would not come cheap, but it would be a smart investment. The Michigan Economic Center found that each $1 spent to enhance the Blue Economy can generate nearly $7 in economic activity for the surrounding community.
Sounds like the days of sneaking behind the VFW Hall to take a dip should be long gone.
If Lake St. Clair is our jewel, it’s time to cash in.
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