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ALPENA -- The Alpena Municipal Council on Monday delayed a vote on changing the traffic light at the intersection of Miller Street and 2nd Avenue, the scene of multiple crashes near a school.
The council on Monday requested additional crash information from Police Chief Joel Jett.
The city's assistant engineer, Steve Shultz, issued a proposal that would change the current blinking red-and-yellow light to one that cycles through three colors. It would also add buttons for pedestrians to hold traffic while they cross the busy streets.
Since 2010 at that intersection, 26 collisions resulted in 12 injuries, including one person who was seriously injured, Jett told the council. There have been three crashes so far this year.
A crash in October tipped a sport utility vehicle on its side, requiring police aid in extracting the driver and two students of nearby All Saints Catholic School from the overturned SUV.
The traffic light was changed from a three-color light to the current blinking one in either 2011 or 2012, Shultz said.
Council members instructed Jett to collect data from 10 years prior to that to compare the number of crashes that happened with the old light system, and also asked him to detail how many crashes involved pedestrians. Jett is expected to report back at the council's Jan. 18 meeting.
Over the next few years, major road and utility work is planned for 2nd Avenue, from Fletcher Street to Hueber Street. Shultz recommended the intersection at Miller and 2nd be done at the same time the new traffic light is done.
"The overall impact to the neighborhood and traffic flow in and around 2nd Avenue will be a major issue," Shultz said. "One way to alleviate this would be to maintain a few intersections and keep them open during construction to allow traffic to flow northerly and southerly across 2nd Avenue."
The total cost of the street and utility work would be about $276,382.
It would cost $28,782 to have the light changed and pedestrian crossing equipment installed.
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In other business
The Alpena Municipal Council on Monday also:
∫ went into closed session to discuss litigation against the city filed by Dr. Bob Currier. Few details about the case have been made public, but it involves the city's selection process for issuing medical marijuana licenses.
∫ heard from Mayor Matt Waligora the 2020 City Wide Pride winners. They were Department of Public Works Technician Tim Corn, Administrative Assistant for Police and Fire Tracy Marquardt, Fire Command Mike Sanders, Firefighter/Paramedic Chris Morrison, Police Command Eric Hamp, Police Patrol Linnessa Mellberg, and, for the administrative team, there was a tie, Engineering Assistant Shannon Smolinski and Human Resources Director Kathy Himes.
∫ was formally introduced to new Building Inspector Billy Vogt and Administrative Assistant Kathleen Sauve.