Golf and Outing Club wary of sidewalk plan

The Ann Arbor Golf and Outing Club was founded in 1890, and the city grew up around it. Now, members of the club are worried that the city will intrude onto their nine-hole golf course as part of a sidewalk installation project.

The larger plan is to replace aging bridges on East Stadium Boulevard and work on the roadway, including installing sidewalks on the street's south side. The new sidewalk would pass the entrances of the University of Michigan golf course, as well as the Golf and Outing Club.

That two-year project is expected to run through the 2009 and 2010 construction season, said Michael Nearing, senior project manager for the city's engineering division.

A related project, set for next year, would install a pathway for pedestrians and bicycles, along South Main Street, which is along the western edge of the club's property.

Members are worried that, at worst, new sidewalks would mean realigning one or more holes on the course, which, in a domino effect, might mean changing the entire layout of the course, said Tony Werderitsch, board president of the club.

But Nearing said he doesn't think the impact will be that drastic. "I don't believe our path will intrude on their golf course,'' he said.

"We're trying to work collaboratively with them to get our path in in the most sensitive way possible.''

Werderitsch said that decades ago the golf and outing club made way for East Stadium Boulevard and the organization still owns a triangle of land on the Michigan Stadium side of the street, where it parks cars on football Saturdays.

The club, along with the U-M golf course next door, also makes money by parking cars on its property along the south side of East Stadium Boulevard.

A sidewalk along the club's periphery might encourage people to cross either Main Street or East Stadium Boulevard in the middle of the block, Werderitsch said.

But Nearing said the new sidewalks would give pedestrians an easier way to get to various destinations, such as Pioneer High School. He also said the sidewalks are necessary to connect that part of town to the city's central area.

Though there is a sidewalk on the west side of Main Street, a dirt path along the edge of the Golf and Outing Club shows some pedestrians walk on the east side, especially on football Saturdays when thousands of fans make their way to Michigan Stadium, at the northeast corner of the intersection with East Stadium Boulevard.

Nearing expects the city will look for grants to cover the cost of the work, but also that it will assess the Golf and Outing Club for the sidewalk along its property.

The city couldn't assess U-M for money to pay for the sidewalk, he said, but administrators will be talking to university officials about contributing some funds.

Marianne Rzepka can be reached at 734-994-6820 or mrzepka@annarbornews.com.