Portage, Michigan

7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 PORTAGE , MI CHIGAN first approved COVID-19 vaccine rolled out the doors of Pfizer’s Portage plant and signaled the beginning of the fight back against the virus. Recently, Pfizer Inc. announced a planned $120 million investment at its Portage facility that will create 250 additional jobs and support the production of its COVID-19 oral treatment, Paxlovid. But business and industry are not Portage’s only draw. The city takes great pride in the “nature” part of being a natural place to move. The city administration and staff have worked hard to develop their green spaces, now boasting 19 parks and 55 miles of bikeways and trails. The bike trail system development actually began in the 1980s. An active cyclist herself, Randall reports, “We have incredible bike trails. We also have bike lanes – our civil engineer was a road cyclist – and we did it well before it became placemaking and before the Millennial demand for that type of thing. We are environmentally on the Gold list (referring to a designation by the “Michigan Green Communities” program).” Portage continues buying decommissioned railroad beds and transforming them into more trails. They currently have 23 miles of off-road trails and 41 miles of bike lanes. For their efforts, they were recently honored with a Silver Designation from the American Cyclist Association, a step up from their Bronze Designation the previous year. Herringa acknowledges, “We’ve made a commitment to preserving as much open space as we can. We’ve been a Tree City USA for 31 years now, so we really put a priority on doing what we can to preserve our tree canopy.” Portage is also home to four inland lakes, the Portage Creek, and several bogs. Another sure-fire sign of a community that is growing and thriving is the health of the local school system. It’s a little easier with community Acting City Manager Adam Herringa Mayor, Patricia Randall