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19
Oct 2007
Between a rock and a hard light
Posted by Scott Spielman
at 4:30 PM | Comments
The Northville Township Board of Trustees found themselves in a tough position Thursday night.
Faced with a group of concerned—if not angry—parents, they tried to defend their position on the traffic light in front of Northville High School.
And that position is that it doesn’t need to function all the time.
They’re right, too, but they’ll never win that argument. Consider all the rational ways they tried to: (1) townships have no jurisdiction over roads or the timing of stoplights; (2) the traffic count isn’t high enough to warrant a light at all—let alone one that is always flashing it’s green-yellow-red sequence (3) it’s not a real intersection (4) there’s no data that would suggest it would improve safety there—or that it’s an inherently dangerous road to begin with.
Good luck telling that to a parent whose son or daughter has to navigate the clogged driveway at the beginning or end of the school day.
It’s funny, though, that this rancor has fallen on the trustees. They never liked the school site plan to begin with—and in fact sued the district over it—and any previous attempts to get some speed or road issues solved with Wayne County have been less than fruitful. They’ve tried, too.
The board probably came off looking heartless in their refusal to send a resolution in support of a change at the light. I probably sound just as heartless when I say it was the right thing to do. There has been plenty of time spent on this already, discussion debate and study. I think it’s okay to trust the experts on it.
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