City to vote on Mission Street redesign plans today

The Mount Pleasant City Commission will be reviewing and voting on a redesign plan for Mission Street from the Michigan Department of Transportation at Monday’s meeting, at City Hall, 320 W. Broadway St.

The meeting will begin with a work session at 6:30 p.m. for the proposed design.

The plan includes taking out the left-hand turn lanes on Mission Street at the intersections of Broomfield Street and Blue Grass Road.

City staff do not approve of the plan, according to a memo written by Nancy Ridley, assistant city manager and the director of administrative and financial services.

The city’s Downtown Development Authority and Planning Commission have concerns about the proposed design as well, Ridley said.

“After substantial analysis and discussion, City staff has come to the conclusion that the project, as currently designed, does not meet the primary goals of the city,” she said.

The city held a special meeting at City Hall on Sept. 21 with the Central Business District, Tax Increment Finance Authority, Mission-Pickard Downtown Development Authority, Industrial Park North TIFA and University Park TIFA to discuss city concerns with the design.

Concerns included the distance between the proposed intersections and turnarounds, sidewalks being too close to roads, the prohibition of left turns at both intersections and future maintenance of aesthetic elements such as landscaping.

The groups agreed Mission Street needs improvements, but do not feel the plan provides a better design for the city.

Concerns from the Planning Commission’s Sept. 3 meeting included student and pedestrian safety and the potential impact on businesses located on the street.

Mount Pleasant hired a consulting firm in February to review the street and meet with MDOT representatives and stakeholders, Ridley said. MDOT and city staffers have met numerous times since and will be presented with MDOT’s final plan at the meeting, she said.

The proposed project is tentatively estimated at $4.5 million, Ridley said, with parts of the project outside city limits. MDOT estimated the total cost of the Mount Pleasant design at $2,520,000 and requests $22,050 from the city.

Other business

The commission will consider postponing a decision on the city’s Oak Street Bridge, located behind City Hall in Island Park.

The commission will also review traffic control orders including placing a 25 mph speed limit sign to the entrance of Corporate Drive at Mission Street and a no-parking from 3:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. sign on the south side of Gaylord Street between Kinney and Arnold Streets.