City Council, DDA to share engineering costs for new traffic light

The City of Wayland and the Downtown Development Authority likely will split the costs for engineering for a new traffic signal at the intersection of Main and Superior streets.

The City Council Monday night voted to ask the DDA Board to split the costs for engineering fees. The DDA would use money from its project fund and the city from its street fund.

There had been some confusion about who would pick up the costs, but as Councilman Ron Kobish said, “It is their project, but the city started it.”

A new traffic light sometime could be installed some time this year this year, but the city learned that $32,000 in engineering costs would need to be absorbed first.

City Engineer Mickey Bittner told the council last month that the deadline for the paperwork  is by May for an estimated $180,000 grant for a “congestion mitigation” project through Rural Task Force money made available to Allegan County. Wayland currently is No. 1 on the list or recipients for the grant.

The project would involve installation of a new traffic light facing in all four directions and more sensitive via camera syncing to traffic conditions in order to change.

Selden said the light would include masked arm bars to better accommodate directing traffic.

The grant is the result of an effort to have fewer vehicles stopped at lights simply running their engines when no other motorists are approaching them.