Highway 108 Corridor & Horne Lake Park

The Highway 108 Corridor through the City of Elliot Lake has seen vast improvements and development over the past few years.  The City has taken a proactive role in the design of current and future development in the corridor and has contracted ENVision the Hough Group - a landscape architecture firm - to prepare a strategic framework plan and vision document to supplement this approach.  The goal is to create a unified streetscape that will blend in with the ongoing plans for road improvements, with existing and potential landscapes, serve as the catalyst for landscape upgrades to adjacent private commercial properties, and further stimulate economic development opportunities.

The Conceptual Plan Study Area limits are Highway 108 Corridor (generally the municipal right of way, and adjacent open space lands) from the City limits in the South to industrial area border in the north.

The Highway 108 Strategic Framework Plan develops an overall strategic framework plan for urban design and streetscape improvements within the Hwy 108 corridor.  It identifies an overall theme for the corridor, character areas, potential location and themes for primary and secondary features and open space and linkages to all of the above.

This plan is supplemented by a Vision Document - a brief summary report that identifies a long term, implementable vision for improvements to the Hwy 108 streetscape as well as suggestions for improvements during other beautification projects and private development within the community.

Horne Lake Park

Horne Lake Park is the tentative name given to the project area being developed along the shores of Horne Lake.  This project will see the complete development of the area between Highway 108 and Horne Lake between Spruce Avenue and the area immediately behind the Hampton Inn site.  The project will include a paved walkway from end-to-end, accessible ramps into the park, a fishing pier, a boat launching dock (no vehicular access) and various viewing platforms and benches.  The project will also add three trails in the park area to bring pedestrians closer to the lakeshore and will see over 1,300 trees planted in order to buffer park visitors from highway traffic.  The developed park area will be open to non-motorized traffic in spring, summer and fall and will be open to snowmobile traffic in the winter.

Construction on the park began in August of 2008 and will be suspended until spring of 2009.  The expected completion date is August of 2009.

The image below is a rough drawing of the park plans.  Not all elements are scheduled as shown.