WYANDOTTE, Mich. – A change of traffic directions on two Wyandotte streets is getting a strong reaction from residents.
13th Street and 15th Street between Ford Road and Goddard Avenue are being converted to one-way streets.
City crews began putting up signs Thursday (Jan. 2) on 13th Street, directing traffic flow southbound.
The signs will be installed Friday (Jan. 3) on 15th Street, which will be for northbound traffic.
“I don’t like it. I think it is confusing for people,” resident Judy Murray said.
“It’s pretty much a no-brainer for me. And it’s for the safety of kids, so what’s better than that,” resident Joe Thompson said.
The changes come after a student was hit by a car in the neighborhood last October.
That prompted some residents to sign a petition asking the city for better traffic control around Jefferson Elementary School and Wilson Middle School.
The recommendations include flashing stop signs, speed bumps, and increased police presence.
The city council commissioned a traffic study.
Following that study, Wyandotte Police Chief Archie Hamilton told council members he supported converting 13th and 15th streets to one-way streets to make them safer for pedestrians, which the council approved at a meeting last November.
As the new street signs were being installed, some residents put up their own signs in their yards in protest. The signs say: “If you don’t like the change, rethink who you vote for.”
“I’m highly opposed to it. None of us on this block want it. We’ve been to city council meetings, and they seem to ignore us,” resident Rick Demyanovich said.
He worries that speeding will become even more of an issue in the neighborhood.
“That bridge down there coming out of Lincoln Park is heavily traveled, and there is a lot of speeders that dart across the bridge. With no incoming traffic to stop them anymore, look out,” Demyanovich warned.
Like others Shirley Troisi prefers other traffic control measures rather than making the streets one way.
But she said she’s willing to give it a chance to see if it improves safety for the kids.
“Safety is the most important thing, number one,” Troisi said.
Wyandotte Public Schools will return to the classroom from winter break Monday (Jan. 6).
Wyandotte Mayor Rob DeSana and WPS Superintendent John Anderson couldn’t be reached for comment.
Chief Hamilton was unavailable.