EAST LANSING, Mich — The East Lansing Transportation Commission is recommending stop signs at two of six requested intersections, despite engineering studies indicating most don't meet official requirements, frustrating residents concerned about neighborhood safety.
- Residents have submitted petitions for stop signs at six different East Lansing intersections.
- Engineering studies costing over $50,000 found most intersections don't meet official requirements for multi-way stops.
- The Transportation Commission is recommending stop signs at two locations, with more to be discussed in November.
The debate highlights tensions between technical traffic standards and residents' safety concerns in their neighborhoods.
WATCH: East Lansing residents petition for stop signs despite engineering recommendations
"I want to acknowledge what we have gotten here," said Carissa Bucholz, who met with me before Monday's Transportation Commission meeting to discuss her safety concerns.
Bucholz, a parent of young children, expressed frustration about traffic conditions in her neighborhood.
"It's frustrating as a parent of two small kids when we have children learning to ride a bike. It's sad that we can't take our kids around the neighborhood without fearing that someone is going to fly through," Bucholz said.
The Transportation Commission meeting on Monday addressed requests to add stop signs at six different intersections throughout East Lansing, drawing significant interest from neighborhood residents.
Engineering studies conducted by consultant Fishbeck determined that most of the intersections don't meet the official requirements for multi-way stops as established by the Michigan Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. These standards are based on crash data, visibility, and traffic volume.
Despite the engineering recommendations, the Transportation Commission decided to recommend and approve the addition of stop signs at two of the six requested locations.
"With the nature of time we wanted each agenda item to have the same amount of time to scrutinize the proposal, so we tabled the last for our next meeting in November," Mitchell Moore said.
Bucholz believes the changes are long overdue and questions the city's spending priorities.
"A big concern that I have is we're seeing a city that is struggling financially spending tens of thousands of dollars on engineering studies when they could just put up stop signs," Bucholz said.
The two approved recommendations will now proceed to the East Lansing City Council for final consideration.
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