Change of traffic signs meant to halt congestion
The corners of Washington Street and Ottawa Court and Washington Street and Ojibway Court are expected to see less congestion with cars this semester.
The stop signs at Ottawa Court were replaced with yield signs, and Ojibway Court had new stop signs installed.
The signs were placed by the city of Mount Pleasant at the request of Central Michigan University, said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of facilities management.
“Washington is a city street, so we had to make a request to them to change the signs,” Lawrence said.
The cost was estimated at $400. Lawrence said they had received some requests from campus to have the traffic signs changed.
“People said they were having a difficult time driving through that area,” Lawrence said.
A natural fit
The university was not the only one to understand the practicality of having the traffic signs changed.
Duane Ellis, Mount Pleasant director of public works, said it was natural to change the signs because, in the summer, Ottawa and Ojibway courts changed to one-way streets.
“After the university changed Ottawa into a one-way, there was no need for the stop signs — people could only turn in,” Ellis said.
The point of changing the signs was to help increase the flow of traffic, which was often backed up in that area, he said.
“The stop signs at Ojibway will make it much easier for people to turn back onto Washington,” Ellis said.
The university contacted the city in the fall about having the traffic signs changed. Ellis said the plans had to be reviewed by the city’s traffic committee.
After that, it was decided to wait until break to do the construction.
“It was easier to wait until everyone was gone. There wouldn’t be a lot of traffic during break, so it was better that way,” Ellis said.
Lawrence said there are no more plans to add or change any more traffic signs around campus.
