Troy council authorizes bidding for $12 million downtown safety streetscape after debate

Troy City Council on May 4 voted to authorize advertising for bids for a downtown safety streetscape renovation project, approving a resolution that allows the Director of Public Service and Safety to award a contract not to exceed $12,000,000.

The authorization, presented by Streets and Sidewalks Committee Chair Mr. Phillips, was framed as an initial step to move completed designs to bid. "This is the initial contract," Phillips said, describing the action as authorization to advertise under existing design specifications rather than a final amendment to the project scope.

The measure drew a pointed intervention from Mr. Schilling, who urged council to consider adding pedestrian flashing lights and cautioned against relying solely on traditional traffic-engineer studies. "These traffic studies were written by traffic engineers, for traffic engineers, and their main purpose is to move traffic," Schilling said. He described flashing pedestrian signs as a tool to slow drivers and capture attention near crosswalks and said he planned to seek an amendment when the item returned for final action.

Supporters said the authorization preserves the council’s ability to revisit specifications later in the process while allowing bids to proceed. Council members debated whether amendments could be made after adoption and sought clarification from procedural advisors; the president and law director confirmed the current vote would authorize bidding under the existing design and that subsequent changes could be pursued through later legislation or the contract-modification process.

After procedural discussion and a roll-call vote on adoption, council approved the motion to authorize bidding. Two members recorded dissent during the adoption roll call; the motion passed and the project will move to the public bidding phase.

The resolution will allow the city to solicit construction bids based on the existing design documents; council members said they retain the option to propose later amendments or additional features if the work returns to council for approvals beyond the award process.

Council did not, at this meeting, adopt any final design changes; supporters and critics said they expect future opportunities to press for specific pedestrian-safety features as the project advances.