Just as Mr. Smith went to Washington, so the Oxford Village Council wants to go to Lansing to talk about getting a traffic signal at the intersection of M-24 and Stanton/Dennison streets.
‘M-DOT (Michigan Department of Transportation) is notorious for oiling the squeaky wheel,? said Councilwoman Teri Stiles.
Council voted 5-0 last week to direct village Manager Joe Young to set up a meeting with state officials in Lansing. Village officials want to meet with state representatives and even the governor, if possible.
Traffic lights and pedestrian safety were the big topic of discussion at last week’s council meeting in light of the Sept. 14 incident involving four teenage girls who were struck by a vehicle while jaywalking across M-24 between the Oxford 7 Theater and Starbucks.
‘I’ll ask each and every one of you. You read the paper. You knew the accident that occurred Sept. 14. What have you done today, 10 days later, to protect that intersection ? to protect my kids, to protect everybody’s kids in this room and in this community?? asked Jim Scotti, father of one of the victims. ‘What’s happened? Nothing.?
‘Yeah, it’s our obligation to make that safer, but we also have to get the word out that it’s dangerous to cross M-24 at certain locations in between the light and the intersection,? said Police Chief Mike Neymanowski. ‘Certainly, it’s our job to make that safe, but we also have to emphasize the fact the community has to use some good judgement out there too, when you’re crossing this particular state highway because there is a lot of traffic.?
Neymanowski read highlights from five years worth of letters and memos from village officials requesting a traffic signal at that intersection and outlining why one is needed.
In response, all the village has heard from the state is the signal at Burdick would be ‘too close? and there’s not enough traffic on Dennison and Stanton streets to warrant a light there.
‘But something’s got to warrant the safety of our kids and the people in the downtown area,? Neymanowski said.
After five years, the chief said the village ended up with some white lines painted across M-24 that are supposed to indicate a crosswalk between the theater and Starbucks and which, in Neymanowski’s opinion, are not safe.
‘I think it sends certainly mixed messages out there,? the chief said.
‘Our daughters never would have considered walking across that street had it not been for that crosswalk,? said a mother of one of the victims.
It should be noted the four girls hit on Sept. 14 were crossing approximately 15 ft. north of the crosswalk lines, according to the village police report and witnesses.
Council voted 5-0 to get those crosswalk lines removed and ‘no crossing? signs posted there.
Neymanowski said some people think pedestrian crossings ‘give me the right to cross.?
‘Well, that’s absolutely not true,? he said. ‘Even with that crossing, pedestrians still have to use common sense. Motorists have to use it. It’s kind of a combination. Obviously, there’s people out there without common sense, who violate traffic laws.?
Post a crossing guard there
Scotti suggested the village hire crossing guards and position them at the Stanton/M-24/Dennison intersection on Friday and Saturday nights.
‘Schools hire crossing guards where children have to cross busy intersections everyday,? he said.
At $8 an hour, three hours a day, two days a week, Scotti estimated it could cost the village $2,500 per year and provide a ‘simple solution? to the safety problem.
‘It is absolutely appalling . . . that my kid was injured at that intersection ? potentially life-threatening injury, potentially lifelong injury,? Scotti said. ‘Ask yourself the legal cost associated with an event like that and find the money.?
However, Acting Clerk Rose Bejma noted that in the 1980s, schools stopped having crossing guards for M-24 because it was too much of a safety risk.
‘One person can’t stop four lanes of highway,? she noted.
Village President Chris Bishop worried about those times when there’s no crossing guard on duty.
‘We obviously can’t provide crossing guards everyday, every night all year long,? he said. ‘What happens when the crossing guards aren’t there? We’d be providing a false sense of security to parents who allow their kids in town.?
How about a crosswalk over the road?
Marlin Wroubel, father of a victim in the Sept. 14 accident, said getting a traffic light out of M-DOT is an ‘uphill battle? and the village should instead consider constructing a crosswalk that extends over M-24.
‘Think about an overhead crosswalk,? he said. ‘It may be a simpler solution. It may be a quicker solution.?
Even if the village paid to put a traffic signal there, Wroubel, a commercial real estate developer who’s worked with M-DOT before, said the state would never agree to put one there because it opens them up to lawsuits.
M-DOT has traffic studies which state putting a light there would be too close to the one at Burdick.
If the state ‘violated? those studies and installed a signal there anyway, ‘they’re putting themselves in harm’s way.?
‘That’s the basic reason they resist it even when you tell them you want to pay,? Wroubel said.
Wroubel noted that installing a traffic light there ‘actually creates more trouble than it’s worth because people speed up to get through? it ‘have to slam on the brakes to stop at the next signal.?
‘You start rear-ending people,? the trial lawyers will find the traffic studies showing the lights are too close and ‘you’re at fault.?
That’s why Wroubel urged the village not to put ‘all your eggs in one basket? pursuing a traffic light.
‘Your energy might be better spent (on an overhead crosswalk),? he told officials.
However, it was noted that just as it was with the Polly Ann Trail bridge over M-24, M-DOT’s approval would be required for any structure going over the road.
In Bishop’s opinion, a traffic signal or overhead crosswalk are ‘really the only two options I see to providing real safety to people as they cross the road.?
Let’s make some noise
If anything is ever going to be done to make that intersection safer for pedestrian crossing, council members agreed it will require lots of community support and voices.
‘I think the entire community should get on the bandwagon, get a petition,? said Councilman Tom Benner. ‘The louder you get, the less they want to hear you.?
‘If you get enough people on the bandwagon and you make enough noise, somebody’s going to listen,? he noted.
Stiles said media attention needs to be garnered in order to make some real progress.
‘M-DOT doesn’t like being in the newspapers,? she said. ‘We need to start an all-out campaign to embarrass the living bejabbers out of M-DOT.?
Everyone cross at Burdick light, please
Until something can be done, Neymanowski stressed that pedestrians must use ‘common sense.?
‘You don’t cross at certain places on M-24,? he said.
The safest place to cross downtown is using the traffic light at the Burdick intersection.
But unfortunately, the chief said, ‘People are not going to use good judgement at times.?
‘It’s an inconvenience, I guess, to walk down to that light,? Neymanowski said. ‘It’s easier to dart across from the theater to Starbucks and from Starbucks to the theater.?
Despite police efforts to deter them, the chief said, ‘There’s still a lot of near misses over there? involving ‘kids running back and forth.?