Residents urge Burton council to drop Bristol–Belsey roundabout over threat to longtime Nearing's Market

Dozens of residents packed a Burton City Council public hearing to oppose a proposed roundabout at the intersection of Bristol and Belsey roads, telling council members the design would harm Nearing's Market — a 65‑year family business — and that updated crash and traffic data do not justify construction. The council did not vote; an attorney advised no action could be taken at the hearing.

Paul O'Meara of Roe Professional Services, presenting the county and design background to the council and audience, said the Genesee County planning effort began in 2019 and the five‑year crash tally for the Bristol/Belsey location showed 21 crashes including five injuries. O'Meara explained the county successfully sought a federal carbon‑reduction grant that would cover roughly 80 percent of construction costs and said the design would be a single‑lane roundabout with some right‑of‑way and temporary grading easements needed from properties on all four corners. He also said converting a four‑way stop to a roundabout typically reduces crashes and that the intersection's level of service could improve under the design.

Many speakers disputed those conclusions and asked the council to reconsider. “I don't think a roundabout is needed at this intersection,” said business owner Katie Nearing, who identified her address and Nearing's Market as the family grocery at the corner. She told the council the most recent crash counts from 2019 to 2023, confirmed with the Burton Police Department, show fewer crashes after solar flashing stop‑sign lights were installed and that engineers and DPW had not found a workable access solution for her parking lot. Residents repeatedly warned that closing or constraining two driveways would impede semi deliveries and employee parking.

Other residents pressed the council on the age and completeness of the traffic data cited for the selection. “The crash data that was used…was from 2015 to 2019,” said Wissant Slanger, who urged officials to rerun benefit–cost and traffic projections with recent population and crash figures; he also said recent data show zero fatalities and zero incapacitating injuries after the flashing lights were added. Several speakers said similar nearby intersections had worse safety records and argued grant funds could be better deployed there.

Speakers raised operational concerns that large trucks could not safely make deliveries to Nearing's under the proposed footprint. “If you go in Katie's north driveway to go to the east, you cannot put a 53 foot tractor trailer around that building,” said Rob Condon, who described decades of truck‑driving experience and warned of potential serious collisions. Others noted the project would require temporary and permanent changes to private property — including temporary grading easements and small right‑of‑way grants on the west corners — and asked whether an impact study had been done assessing business losses, alternate delivery routes or construction‑period mitigation.

Several residents and one former councilor flagged that the council's prior actions on the project were tentative. As O'Meara noted, the county awarded funds for the 2026 construction season and Burton previously voted to accept funding and authorize design work; multiple speakers reminded the council those approvals were not final votes to construct and that funds could be reallocated by the county if Burton declined to proceed.

Council members limited speakers to three minutes and managed an orderly session after an initial capacity issue; the council president closed by thanking the crowd and adjourning the hearing. The city has not scheduled a vote at this meeting; next steps were not finalized during the hearing.