Council votes to move forward with $115K Perry Street bike lane removal

Pontiac City Council has passed a resolution aimed at removing a bike lane on Perry Street that runs into the city’s downtown. It was installed in 2017 by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) as part of a study on transportation and walkability in the city. The bike lane has been the subject of much debate over the past year, being cited as one reason the city council turned down a two-way Woodward Avenue conversion project in April 2020. The estimated project cost is $115,000, including $94,000 for construction, preliminary engineering and construction engineering. The resolution will allow the city’s mayor, department of public works or city engineer to discuss the project with MDOT and express the city’s interest in paying for it. A separate resolution was passed in 2019 to remove the bike lane without the budgeted cost from the city. Representatives from MDOT stated that the agency was still collecting data on the viability of the bike lane at the time. Members of council who have publicly come out against the bike lane have pointed to the road’s speed limit and heavy traffic. The addition of the bike lane reduced the number of vehicle lanes from five to three. In December 2020, a 29-year-old woman died after being hit by a car while attempting to cross Perry Street.