Houghton plans to modify one park, add another

At Tuesday’s Houghton Planning Commission meeting, City Manager Eric Waara talked about potential modifications to Verna Mize Park. Located on the west end, right off Memorial Drive, the small preserve is noisy during the day. Only a thin barricade separates the space from 45 mph highway traffic.

There is a plaque set in the park that was donated by Michigan Tech, along with a city one that Waara wants to move to a new location. One which is quieter and can be better appreciated by pedestrians walking past.

Verna Mize was an environmental activist known as the “First Lady of Lake Superior.” Her most famous efforts involved a fight with the Reserve Mining Company to end the release of talconite tailings into the water along the North Shore of Minnesota. Mize was born in 1913 in Houghton.

Waara also proposed a permanent dog park location. After pushback, the Garnet Street idea has been scrapped, but a new option has emerged up on Sharon Avenue by the water tank. The only other use for the immediate area is as a snow dump and Waara says the two functions would not conflict.

Waara says the spot is well away from anyone’s backyard, so noise should not be an issue. And yet, it is only two blocks from Seventh Avenue, a popular walking route.