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Neighbors press for traffic-calming near Pine Grove Park; council rejects decorative-crosswalk policy
Summary
Multiple Port Huron residents urged the council May 26 to implement traffic-calming around Pine Grove Park and Prospect Place; council debate about a decorative crosswalk art policy ended with the council voting it down amid concerns about subjectivity and distraction.
Residents from the Lightship neighborhood told the Port Huron City Council on May 26 they are experiencing frequent speeding and unsafe crossings near Pine Grove Park and Prospect Place and urged low-cost, reversible traffic-calming measures.
"They don't yield to me when I'm trying to cross across that crosswalk," resident Breezy Wallace said, describing drivers failing to stop at a marked crossing and requesting measures such as parking on one side of the street to create a buffer.
Cyclist and neighbor Bruce Morrison urged a repainting 'road diet' to remove an oversized center turn lane and create curb‑adjacent bike lanes, saying paint and restriping could change driver behavior without major construction. "If we eliminate the 12 1/2 ft turn lane and put car traffic in the center of the road on either side of a double yellow line, there would be enough room left over to place bike lanes," he said.
Neighbors reported more than 260 signatures on a traffic-safety petition and asked the city to run a short-term pilot to test traffic-calming treatments and measure impacts. Brandon Hunt, speaking for the group, said a trial would allow the community and staff to evaluate data and lived experience before making permanent changes.
Earlier in the meeting councilors considered a decorative crosswalk art policy intended to involve students and use art to slow traffic. Supporters said painted crosswalks can slow motorists and foster community participation; opponents warned the policy would force the council to judge subjective art choices and could be distracting. "What one of us sees as artwork, another one might see as offensive artwork," one council member said in explaining a no vote.
On roll call the decorative-crosswalk policy failed. Council members who voted no cited concerns about subjectivity and potential unintended consequences; supporters said the program could be a low-cost traffic-calming tool when paired with standards.
Next steps: Residents asked the council to direct staff to develop a pilot traffic-calming program for Prospect Place and Pine Grove Park and to collaborate with neighbors in the master-plan Complete Streets framework. Council thanked speakers and said staff would follow up.
