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A car passes one of several crosswalks on Riverside Avenue Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in St. Clair. The crosswalks were repainted when the road diet restriping was done this summer. Some city officials had questions this week about jaywalking.(Photo: Jackie Smith/Times Herald.)
New developments mean a busier downtown St. Clair.
And with that comes more people crossing Riverside Avenue.
This summers road diet lane reduction on the state M-29 highway going from two lanes for northbound and southbound traffic totwo directional lanes and a center turn lane was a restriping effort from the Michigan Department of Transportation that included redefining several crosswalks between local businesses and the waterfront.
Although the effort aimed to slow traffic down and make the area safer for pedestrians, the dynamic has still been a concern for some officials and residents.
Theres been some controversy regarding jaywalking downtown, St. Clair City Councilman Tom McCartney said this week, referring to a slew of discussions hed seen on Facebook within the last couple of weeks.
With the cross walks identified, I see questions on there about whether theres an ordinance in St. Clair to enforce jaywalking or not.
McCartney first made the reference during Mondays regular council meeting.
Police Chief Tim Raker said its based on how the state interprets jaywalking.
Its illegal to cross diagonally, but they can go straight across the shortest distance no matter where they go, he said. They dont have the right-of-way if theyre not in a crosswalk, but they can cross there. As long as they go straight.
On Thursday, McCartney said issues like jaywalking and pedestrian safety, in general were a big part of the discussion early on as city officials considered the road diet, which the city signed off on it in early 2019.
Its also coming to mind now, as well, he said, as activity picks up around town.
Construction is nearing completion on the St. Clair Inn. The hotel will start hosting events at the end of this month.(Photo: Brian Wells/Times HErald)
The St. Clair River Classic offshore boat races were their biggest ever in July, the city celebrated a completed new boardwalk at Palmer Park in August, and the St. Clair Inn was gearing up for hosting a major charity event Friday and public tours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday this weekend.
McCartney said it was difficult to see why more people dont use the crosswalks.
Theyll be 20 feet away and theyll still cross, he said.
The speed limit on Riverside through downtown St. Clair is 30 mph. Previously, when it was four lanes, officials often recalled drivers going 10 or more over.
When asked about the road diet, slowing those speeds down and being more pedestrian-friendly, Mayor Bill Cedar said, The general consensus is that has happened.
But its also too soon to know if itll work in all settings year-round. We want to see it through the winter and the busy season of the summer next year, Cedar said.
And they also want to see how any surge of visitors coming to the St. Clair Inn affects downtown and the newly-lined road. Oh yeah, Cedar said. Were going to keep a close eye on that, for sure.
Work to restripe Riverside Drive in St. Clair was completed in July. The road was reconfigured from four lanes to two direction lanes and a center turn lane to slow traffic.(Photo: Brian Wells/Times Herald)
St. Clair Inn developer Jeff Katofsky reiterated Thursday that the inn will have offsite parking and a valet service for its visitors as to not have any, for instance, parking at Riverview Plaza and crossing the street.
We are going to significantly discourage and ask people not to park at the plaza, he said in a message. The road diet, either way, he said, is certainly a plus.
It also slows down people traveling through, which will allow for more people to cross the street on foot better, Katofsky said. But weve got plenty of parking.
With or without the new lane setup, people using those crosswalks may not see a difference. On Thursday, several pedestrians said its hit or miss still in whether cars yield to them, as required.
Resident Mike Merrill described a couple of instances where it was pretty close crossing the road in his wheelchair.
I almost got walloped one time. I had to really hit it hard to back up, he said. Its not real dangerous, its just I cant believe the cars dont see it.
Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.
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Officials: Mind those crosswalks as downtown St. Clair gets busier - The Times Herald
