Resident raises safety concerns over River Road guardrails; staff to inspect MDOT compliance

During public comment at the Dec. 15 Marysville City Council meeting, resident Cathy Mills urged the council to reconsider the decision not to reinstall guardrails along River Road and described safety hazards including steep drop-offs, lack of streetlights and wrong‑way traffic.

“We were told, and I quote, after speaking with the city manager, project control engineering, and our department of public works director, they have received information from MDOT which determined that River Road does not meet requirements for guardrail installation,” Mills told the council, asking that the decision be revisited for the safety of people traveling between Mac Avenue and Davis Road.

Council members asked staff for clarification. Quentin (project controls) said the original guardrails were removed when the road configuration changed to accommodate a bike path and that the removed guardrails no longer meet Michigan Department of Transportation standards. “It doesn’t meet MDOT regulations... the ones that were removed are completely out of compliance,” Quentin said, adding that any reinstallation would require updated guardrail designs and a targeted review of specific areas.

Quentin said staff will inspect the locations Mills identified and evaluate whether targeted guardrail installations are warranted. “I actually am gonna jump in the truck. I’ll go by Aspen Drive,” he said, indicating he would review the stretch near the Aspen Grove Apartments and other areas of concern. Council did not take formal action; the item will move to staff review rather than an immediate council decision.

The council meeting record shows no vote on the guardrail question; the immediate next steps are a staff site visit and follow-up reporting to the council if staff identify areas that merit further engineering or procurement work.