By Phyllis Rose
Information about a proposed crosswalk on US-131 between Bud’s Bar and the Kalamazoo County State Bank was presented to the Village of Schoolcraft at the Village Council’s May 5 meeting.
Brian Barnes, traffic and safety technician with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), spoke to the Council about the reasons the crosswalk is needed and also the parameters of the crosswalk which could be constructed in 2027.
“The crosswalk will help with calming speeds and slowing down traffic,” he said.
The crosswalk, as designed, would not go straight across the street. Instead, half of the crosswalk would lead out to an island to be constructed in the center lane, he said. Then, pedestrians would have to turn and walk a few feet to the second half of the crosswalk. The jog would require them to stop and take notice of oncoming traffic before continuing on.
Council members questioned Barnes about various issues including signage, additional lighting, rumble strips, and flashing lights to alert drivers to the crosswalk.
Barnes said there would be the typical signage for crosswalks but there probably wouldn’t be rumble strips, flashing lights, or additional lighting.
For flashing lights to be installed, a traffic count would be needed, said Barnes, so right now there are no plans for the flashing lights.
Constructing the crosswalk would take approximately six weeks to two months, he said, with at least one lane closure in each direction during that period.
Questioned whether another crosswalk could be constructed in a different area, Barnes said that would be difficult because the section of the highway mentioned is only four lanes. The proposed crosswalk is in a five-lane section of the highway.
Following the presentation, Village President Michael Rochholz said, “This is a possibility for slowing down traffic.”
Village Manager Cheri Lutz noted that the project is not mandatory. “We don’t have to accept it if we don’t want it,” she said.
There is no cost to the Village since this is an MDOT project.
The Council did not make a decision on the proposal but asked Barnes to send a written proposal for future consideration.
Trustee Todd Carlin asked President Rochholz about a Intergovernmental Roundtable Ad Hoc Committee, to which Rochholz has been appointed as the village’s representative.
“It’s more of a collaboration among the 25 entities,” said Rochholz, noting that it gives legislators a chance to meet with governmental entities at one time rather than meeting with each one individually.
Unaware of the group’s formation, he did not attend the first meeting in April but plans to attend the May meeting, he said.
