Complete (-ly Ignored) Streets

[XLFD]

Seven years ago, city hall made a commitment to the citizens of Ludington to offer complete streets (roadways easily travelled by all forms of transportation) by passing a resolution.  Like your New Year's resolution you made in January, the city hasn't remained constant to the idea. 

The general concept behind complete streets is that whenever the City does extensive work on an 'incomplete' street, it will strive to make it complete, if funding permits.  This typically isn't an issue, since adding sidewalks, curbs, and even wider shoulders is, in general, a small fraction of the cost.  The resolution was strengthened four years later when the City's new comprehensive master plan was created and voted for.

The original resolution made in 2011 was fairly strong and promised quite a bit; it was what I would call the most promising resolution (or ordinance) made in the last ten years in Ludington

But despite a unanimous, solid commitment to having complete streets was around, and a recommitment by a master plan still in force, the City of Ludington under the management of John Shay mostly ignored the strictures of complete streets, pretty much like he had ignored most every other restricted behavior for officials over his tenure. 

When North Staffon Street was completely overhauled later in 2011, a lot of driveways were installed, but not sidewalks.  Nearly six blocks of sidewalks (the red lines on the one side of the road show where they are not installed), all within school safety zones (1000 ft. from school property, see map), were left without sidewalks. One of these blocks was directly across school property.  John Shay admitted obliquely there was no consideration in the plans for the CS resolution.

It should have been obvious when he sold it to the council that complete streets was meaningless to him:

 

"The resolution requires the city consider making city streets better for walkers and bikers while planning the projects, City Manager John Shay said, but does not require the city to actually make those changes.  In exchange, Ludington would receive extra points when it applies for Michigan Department of Transportation grants to pay for road projects.  Shay, in material prepared for the council, stated that adopting the resolution would not obligate the city to incur additional costs by implementing the Complete Streets concept, only that the city consider the concept when planning street work."

Nevertheless, now that it is part of the City's comprehensive master plan as well as a resolution still in effect, and giving the City extra points with MDOT projects, making complete streets should be the rule rather than an ignored part of roadwork.  Let's review the various roadwork the City of Ludington did in 2017 as part of their maintenance and water supply pipe upgrades and see what they did.  

Early that year, the utility maintenance supervisor announced these streets, here are overhead maps showing what they failed to do as far as sidewalks being installed (again, red lines on the street show where the sidewalk isn't) followed by additional commentary.  It should be noted that the City did have money left over from these projects last year, enough to do a couple of other blocks.  Had they installed sidewalks with that money, they would have almost certainly still had extra:

First Street between Taylor Street and Sherman Street:  The north side of the street was totally tore up, flattened out, and left without sidewalks.  The south side of First Street has only the sidewalks that were already there present.  I have walked this route several times and have seen other pedestrians using this route to go between PM Township and Ludington locations.  It's safer to take the railroad as it is.

Taylor Street between First Street and Sixth Street:  Except for one property's already-existing sidewalk this street has no sidewalks in the six block length of it.  Conversely, Taylor Street sees only a limited amount of local vehicle traffic, so had money been more of a consideration this would have been the place to skimp due to prioritization.

South Washington Avenue between Fourth Street and Sixth Street:  No new sidewalks created, but some improvements on the existing sidewalks.  With the next improvement, this could have led to some connectivity of this street that sees moderate motor traffic.

Sixth Street between Washington Avenue and the Industrial Park:  Most of the length had saw previous sidewalk installation, which begs why they didn't complete the network by finishing out the west end.

 
Washington Avenue between Tinkham Avenue and Anderson Street:  This project featured three blocks on or adjacent to school property, where sidewalks were already.  None were taken out.

Lawndale Street between Staffon Street and Sherman Street:  This marked the City's best fulfillment of the complete street's promise, in that the sidewalk along the south side of the street is all new.  This is fantastic, particularly considering that hospital's AFCs, and other medical facilities abut Lawndale on that side.  Unfortunately, they decided against doing the same for the north side, which would see a lot of foot traffic come from Pineway, Ludington Woods, and other nearby living facilities.  Lastly and worstly:

Anderson Street between Washington Avenue and Staffon Street:   You might think that if your 'complete streets city' tore up a street that was adjacent to an elementary and high/junior high school complex that they would put in pedestrian facilities as a matter of highest priority and common sense.  But that isn't Ludington under the direction of Shay.  All those properties on the south side of the street have brand new driveways, but no sidewalks, other than those that were previously installed.  

That second house to the left without a sidewalk belongs to Ludington Zoning Board of Appeals member Mike Nekola, who is apparently fine with the implications of living across from the school and not having a sidewalk put in when it should have been according to the master plan he should be well versed with.  Another joker further down that line has the pedestrian right-of-way blocked off by a handrail for steps coming down from a minor rise forcing those who have the misfortune of being on that side of the road to enter the street.  

Our 2018 street projects are fairing a little better, but still falling far short of making our streets complete.  Those will be reviewed in a future article when their construction is-- for want of a better term:  complete.

[Freedom Seeker]

Excellent analysis of the COL ineffectiveness at real issues a city should take care of primarily, that is, infrastructure.  Instead, the city has gone spiraling down in overbuilding the downtown and pet projects of an Administration that wants to do what they want without public input.  The quaint town is being overtaken.  To the marketers of tourism, sidewalks and streets are not important for the locals, except if you can make the locals pay for their own sidewalks.  I hope this wakes up a lot of locals and motivates them to get the City to focus on us, and budget for infrastructure instead of moving money around and in and out of community foundations and private enterprises for projects so crazy that probably even made John Shay's head spin, plus the creative financing debt.  Complete streets was probably a phrase word bantered about for grant compliance and then forgotten.  

[XLFD]

John Shay's own memo relates his belief that making a complete streets resolution was expedient for getting grants and other considerations, and not that they have to actually make streets 'complete'.  At the time, such a stance may have been needed to get past some of the penny-pinchers on the council at the time who may have balked at the additional costs they perceived would occur.  

Nevertheless, other city's mayors and CMs at the time projected a healthier attitude towards the idea, and adopted it willingly and enthusiastically.  The next step should have been visited when they looked at the new master plan in 2014/2015:  adopting a Complete Streets Ordinance, where the City develops a tailor-made non-motorized transportation network plan in order to make their future moves in the area planned, budgeted, and efficient.  Here's one from Ferndale, most others are very similar.  

I think the fear many perceive in CS is that it will be costly and detrimental to motor traffic/parking to install bicycle facilities on and near streets, and that is concerning.  However, one would hope common sense would prevail and that such facilities would only go where they are sorely needed.

[Willy]

I agree with Freedom, another excellent example of exposing the CIty's lack of integrity and transparency. Thanks for all the information X. Where else can this type of information be revealed to the public? Certainly not local fake news outlets.

[XLFD]

Where else?  Well, if you're on Facebook, we have the Ludington Pitchfork.  This usually links you back to here, so don't be afraid of the tines if you're not afraid of the flames; knowledge will protect you from the fear.