ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Talk of potential changes to a triangle boulevard in Escanaba has inspired locals to make their voices heard.
Earlier this summer, Lisa Fosmo says unnamed City employees informed residents living where Lakeshore Drive intersects with 9th and 10th Avenues of plans to pave the boulevard there.
“I was born here, raised here,” said Fosmo. “I’ve lived right over there in my home for 40 years now. This has always been here. There’s no reason to remove it. There really isn’t.”
Fosmo and a number of her neighbors attended a recent City Council meeting to voice their opposition. While the issue was not on the agenda, City Manager Jim McNeil did address some concerns.
“It is not necessarily happening,” he told attendees. “Right now, the reconfiguration of that intersection is a concept for discussion. If it is going to be a discussion, it would take place at the Traffic Safety Committee.”
He cited “incomplete information” being spread in the community, specifically about the removal of greenspace.
“It wouldn’t be to eliminate all the greenspace,” McNeil said. “It would just be to kind of realign the street so that it came in perpendicular to Lakeshore Drive. The other streets would get turned to greenspace and in the end, you’d probably have more greenspace.”
However, Fosmo is concerned that the greenspace would be incorporated into a few neighbors’ properties. If that were to happen, she says the greenspace would no longer be available for public use.
“If they want to have a larger greenspace elsewhere, I don’t have a problem with that,” she said. “I welcome that. Wonderful. But it shouldn’t be at the cost of this one.”
She says a change in the traffic pattern would also cause disruptions and potential hazards for the neighborhood.
“We believe it would be faster-paced, possibly making it more difficult for us entering and leaving our driveways,” said Fosmo. “Another issue is some of the neighbors will now have headlights in their front window constantly once it’s dark. No one wants that. Also, there is an incline, and [water] pools there. That standing water is somewhat of an issue, but we’re concerned we’re going to have a much greater issue with that water freezing, people skidding out.”
Fosmo also believes the triangle is a major deterrent of traffic accidents. Without it, she fears for the safety of residents and motorists.
“They felt that this was a bad angle and that there are accidents,” she said. “In the last 60 years, I think there have been two serious accidents, and both of those have been speed and alcohol related. People did not stop for the stop sign or the flashing light, and of course you’re going to miss that curve if you don’t stop.”
That is something the City says it is still researching.
“We’re still evaluating accident numbers, some conversation with MDOT, and just the overall cost of the change, too,” said McNeil.
If the boulevard is on the agenda for the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee’s August 19 meeting, McNeil says that is where the real work—if any—would begin. At the City Council meeting, he reiterated that nothing is set in stone at this time.
“[It is] certainly something that has not been decided,” he said. “I believe that work is actually scheduled for next summer, so it’s actually a ways out. There will be plenty of opportunity to give input.”
Fosmo and other residents plan to continue to be vocal in their efforts to preserve their triangle.
“There isn’t a person in my neighborhood that wants to see it go, obviously,” she said. “It’s part of our history. We can’t afford to lose that old-world charm, that aesthetic. Once it’s gone, there’s no putting it back.”
WZMQ 19 will continue to follow this story as it develops.
