Opinions about the South 11th Street gateway from Niles to South Bend vary — “too fast,” “ugly” and “dangerous” are among descriptives — but the consensus among citizens is that change is needed.

The 11th Street Corridor Project, spearheaded by the City of Niles, Niles Township and the Southwestern Michigan Economic Growth Alliance, aims to establish a new vision for the 11th Street Corridor between Main Street and the Indiana state line and bring future economic development to the corridor.

The Land Information Access Association, a non-profit community service organization in Traverse City, is providing assistance for the project under a service grant from the Partnerships for Change Sustainable Communities Program.

A public meeting was held in February at Ring Lardner Middle School in Niles for the community to discuss what they think about the area and brainstorm ideas for improvement.

A steering committee for the project met Tuesday night at Niles City Hall to review feedback from the meeting.

Public comments included:

• Two baseball diamonds, on north and south end of corridor, as well as trail and parks need to be promoted

• Niche businesses, like Shelton’s, are assets

• Corridor is not pedestrian-friendly — lighting, more sidewalks and connections to residential areas would be beneficial

• Signs too numerous and distracting

• Community-specific elements — Niles’ Four Flags heritage, its Montgomery Ward history — need to be used, possibly in a gateway

• Architecture is not consistent

• Most businesses are “pass-through” — customers visit one store and then leave the area

A focus group session involving corridor business owners and residents will be planned for this spring, as well as more public meetings.

Kick-off for the project — Phase I – began in December. Phase II, research, fact-finding and inventory, is slated for January through March; Phase III, community visioning, will be held from February through May; Phase IV, conducting a market “discovery” of the corridor, is planned for April through May; and Phase V, drafting a corridor plan, is scheduled for July through August.

For more information about the planning project, visit www.planfor11thstreet.info. To submit a comment or view comments, click on “Participate” and then “Forum” on the left-hand side of the page.