City of Howell Multi Year Street Program

Viewing the Presentation

DCulver — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:17:02 +0000

My husband and I were unable to make the meeting on October 9th at the High School. Is there a spot on the website (http://howellstreets.com) that we can go to see the presentation that we missed? We would like to see what our street is going to look like when the project is finished.

State street

Jen LaBrecque — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:30:40 +0000

I can understand the “intrest” in making state street 2-way. However, I also thought that walkability was a concern downtown. I feel that making State Street 2-way would create a dangerous and uncomfortable situation with pedestrians walking along Grand River near Dairy Queen and the Courthouse. Anyone who attends the summer concerts at the courthouse, or goes to Dairy Queen on a warm evening can attest to the liveliness of the area.
Traffic turning on to State street to go North would have trouble seeing people who typically congregate in the area (especially in the summer). The on-street parking along Grand River would further inhibit visability in that location. That area of town (near the courthouse) is sort of used as a town sqare presently, and I think it should remain the focal point of our city. The courthouse is what people visualize when they think of Howell. Keeping the area a more “park like” setting would continue to benefit all of us.

Two -way Traffic on State Street?

Citzenkane — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:59:05 +0000

I understand that part of the downtown program is a plan to make State Street 2-way traffic between Grand River and Clinton. The rationale is that this will ‘improve the flow of traffic” from Grand River northward beyond Clinton Street. The plan also calls for the angle parking on both sides of State Street to remain intact.

Has anyone considered what this would look like during afternoon rush hour when full-size pickup trucks have to use both lanes to back out of the parking spots?

Traffic in both directions will have to stop and wait for these persons to back out of their spots. Traffic heading north toward Clinton will have to wait for westbound Clinton traffic (very heavy at this time of the day) to allow them to turn left on Clinton or continue northbound. Their inability to get past this intersection will cause even further backups on northbound State Street. So much for the “improved flow of traffic….”

One side on-street parking?

Dave — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:51:43 +0000

After the initial presentation and the walkabout meetings were conducted I was informed that the final design for the majority of the city streets was to incorporate a street design with on street parking limited to one side of the road and removing any existing gravel swales resulting in an overall street (paved) width of approximately 18 feet. Given this design plan, where cars are parked on the road, this would only allow for one lane of traffic to pass. If one sided on street parking is incorporated to the design, how will it be determined which side the parking is going to be located on? Has any consideration been given to the potential negative impact on property values as a result of limiting parking to one side of the street due to the loss of curretly available on street parking and concentrated nuisance conditions (i.e. increased conjestion/activity, increased noise pollution, littering and accumulation of others refuse which would be left to the home owners to maintain/cleanup, no longer having available for yourself or your guests the convenience of available parking infront of your house or even on the same block,….)

The need for parking on both sides of the street is required throughout the city and should be incorporated consistently throughout the street resign project. Approximately 80% of the employed people who live in Livingston Co. commute to locations ouside of Livingston Co. to get to their place of employment. With two income families and driving age children living at home, this leaves the potential for three or more vehicles per household requiring parking. The majority of the homes in town have single lane, short drive ways and in some cases no driveways at all. As a result the need for onstreet parking is require throughout the city not only now but will continue to be a demand in the future.

Parking on both sides with a minimum of one lane traffic clearance between cars parked on either side should be applied consistently thoughout the redsign project and should include 6-inch curbs. I recognize one of the goals is to reduce speeds and increase “walkability” but I feel these matters can be addressed by the use of road narrowing feature and other traffic flow control measures. Preserving the available on street parking should be one of the primary goals for the redesign.

Fairlawn Forgotten?

acm — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:24:24 +0000

Has our little niche of the City of Howell been forgotten? Has the neighborhood at the northeast corner of Michigan Ave and Highland Rd been absorbed into M-59? We have these lovely new boardwalks and new businesses, but no real access point besides a dilapidated footbridge (if you can call it that) that is becoming increasingly dangerous for bikers and walkers alike. The incline is steep, highly pitted and too dark at dusk and dawn.

We want to enjoy the downtown area and surrounding streets as pedestrians too.

round abouts

concerned — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:26:41 +0000

Please do not put in round abouts! They have proven to be a HUGE disaster in Brighton… Let this be the ONE thing we don’t copy from them.

Apartments in downtown

concerned — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:26:29 +0000

What are our plans for the numerous houses in the downtown area that have been converted to apartments? Are we going to keep allowing this? Not all, but many of the houses have become major eye sores in our neighborhood. Please help!

P.S. Please give us real curbs.

Meeting times

concerned — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:26:00 +0000

Why is the “Walk About” on Barnard starting at 9:00am on a weekday? Doesn’t that limit who is able to attend? Don’t we want as many people as possible to be able to attend? Most people need to be at work at 9:00am on weekdays. Also, the city meeting is at 6:00pm… Again, people work. Can’t we make it later??? This matter is too important to limit who can attend based on the poor choice of meeting times.

Ask questions, attend charrette

admin — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:18:07 +0000

I am a resident of Isbell Street in the southwestern part of the city. Isbell Street was reconstructed several years ago, the last project in the city done without a charrette.

While Isbell Street was reconstructed, with the driving surface better than before, there are problems navigating it when people are parked on both sides (which is allowed) because of the narrow width of the street. Talk about gridlock! And the “mountable” curbs are problematic as the area on the residence side of the curb gets rutted if anyone overshoots the curb.

The “parking areas” along Isbell Street look like someone poured asphalt on top of the grass. The way it ended up on Isbell, if you have asphalt parking in front of your house, you can also park on the street. So at times, it looks like people are double parking along the street.

The Clinton Street reconstruction ended up to be a beautiful project. My street, not so good. The difference? I think it was the charrette process.

My advice is that everyone attend the charrettes, make their opinions known and stay engaged with the project. Demand real curbs, not the mountable kind. There are reasons for curbs, and it’s not for driving on. And demand actual parking bump-outs.

Curbs, gutters, and parking

admin — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:20:11 +0000

I am pleased to hear that our street will be getting some much needed attention in the coming years. My question pertians to what kind of curb and gutter system is planned for the 200 block of W. Washington st. In the previous 10 year plan, I know we were going to get what I would refer to as “real” cement curbs not “wing” curbs like some of the other streets have recently gotten. Is that to remain the same in the 3 year program? We have had a lot of problems with drainage and run-off, and I feel the larger the curbs and additional drains would significantly improve the conditions not to mention they are more astheticly pleasing. Also, I wondered about the street width. Will it remain the same as it is currently? We have a home across the street with no driveway and I am concerned with where they will park. Finally, where can I get information about the community charrettes that will be held in September?

Thank You,

Jennifer LaBrecque

215 W. Washington Howell, MI 48843