Commissioners discuss partnering with university during work session
Mount Pleasant Mayor Jim Holton is not a fan of roundabouts.
"I would rather take (the blueprint) and paper cut my eyeball than approve a roundabout down there," he said.
Holton was referring to plans to construct a roundabout at Bellows and Washington streets. City Manager Nancy Ridley said CMU identified the spot as a top priority project, at an estimated cost of $460,000. The commission discussed paying for half of the project at their informal work session after a City Commission meeting May 11.
Commissioner Matthew Sous said installing the roundabout would help traffic flow.
"We have so many stop signs all over the area; it's absolute gridlock," Sous said. "I'm happy to see they're incorporating more circles on campus, but if we don't adjust to it, the gridlock will just move to our area."
The commission decided the majority was interested in moving to the next steps of the project, which includes presenting payment options to the university.
The commission also discussed additional lighting throughout several off-campus streets.
"There has been some interest in doing pedestrian lighting north of campus, from Bellows to Gaylord, along Franklin and University," Ridley said.
She said CMU is willing to partner with the city to share some of the expenses. The project is estimated at $67,000 for University and Franklin Streets. The commission is still working on fulling funding their portion of the project to present that information to the university.
"President Ross is interested in it, and so I know they will put a lot of money in this project if we move forward with it," Holton said.
Cameras were brought up for the first time since 2012. When previously discussed, many expressed concerns about a "Big Brother" feel if cameras were added to downtown areas, Ridley said.
Holton highlighted the importance of cameras during police investigations.
"They can go back and review what happened," Holton said. "There's more prevention and investigations."
Mayor highlighted the importance of cameras in police investigation.
