Beaver Island Road Striping

Post by **Gillespie** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:08 am

A crew will be coming this Wednesday to re-establish the center line and bicycle path side lines on King's Highway. This was done last year later in the fall and obviously did not hold up. It may surprise you all to know that although the road is made of petroleum products and gravel, highway striping now has to be latex which does not hold up. Some how it seems so odd but thats the way it is I guess. They will also be doing crack sealing which keeps the highway together. If water gets down through the cracks and freezes the road starts coming apart. It is hoped that King's Highway reconstruction will be done next year, you comments and suggestions will help to do that! Politely of course!

wmarkey · Post by **wmarkey** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:00 am

What's surprising is calling the two foot space between the white stripe and the dirt a bike path.

Post by **Gillespie** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:22 am

It's actually 3' Will and it truly is better than nothing which is what we had before! Unfortunately it is very expensive to pave here, we count our blessings best we can!

Brad · Post by **Brad** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:43 am

Ritchie,
Will the whole length of King's Hwy be done and will the bike path be extended along all the new pavement?

Brad

Post by **Gillespie** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:46 am

Hopeful Brad, townships need to stay on top of it as will I, we can only try! Our "turn" is supposed to be this coming year but the Road Commission was hoping that the MAC or Feds would be doing work at the township airport on improvements to help with the cost of getting a paving contractor here. Further, I don't think there has been ANY visit by Reith Reilly operatives (who bought out H&D) to check out their equipment and have it "at the ready" should something come up. All we can do is try!!

Vickie · Post by **Vickie** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:03 pm

I said a prayer today that it gets done soon, so no one gets hurt.

Kim Connaghan Jones · Post by **Kim Connaghan Jones** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:20 pm

If only we could get the bikers to use the bike lane instead of the middle of the road...

DonH · Post by **DonH** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:39 pm

I think we should just be able to share the road with bikes, four wheelers and old cars that hardly ever get up to speed. No one should be in a great hurry unless they have an emergency. Remember it is 25 mph in town on the Kings Hwy.

Keith Szczepanski · Post by **Keith Szczepanski** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:19 pm

In response to DonH. Sharing the road with bicyclists was fine with me on the weekends during my full time residency on the island. The problems that arises,is that when you are a full time resident, you have to go to work. One of my biggest problems with tourists in the summer is that they seemed to never pay any mind to motorists.Half hour for lunch, and idling behind a "pack" of tourists in town isn't conducive to getting back to work on time.

DonH · Post by **DonH** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:26 am

Keith: For many if we don't have the tourists there would be no work to go to.

Kim Connaghan Jones · Post by **Kim Connaghan Jones** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:02 am

Biker's have rules to follow just as driver's do. It has to do with safety. More times than not, a group of bikers will be spread out across the road, they look back at you and continue as they are. If I visit some place, I respect the people who live there and the place where they live, not act like they owe it to me to do as I please.

Sue Avery · Post by **Sue Avery** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:54 am

Well said Kim!

tkludt · Post by **tkludt** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:18 pm

The legislation that became law in 2010 requires that any county, city or village receiving money from Mich. Transportation Fund annually shall have a 5 year plan for improvement of non motorized facilites and spend 1% of the money for that improvement. The law declares paving must met best practices and faciliate non motorized transportation such as paving of unpaved road shoulders and widening of lanes. So if Charlevoix County follows the law, we should have proper new bike lanes when Kings Highway gets repaved next year.
Most cities have used these improvements to promote their bike friendly environment as Ann Arbor.
Maybe our County Commissioner can comment on our counties implementation of this Legislation?
Tom Kludt- retired Bicycle Road Racer who occaisonally rattles and bumps his way down Kings Highway

Keith Szczepanski · Post by **Keith Szczepanski** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:57 pm

DonH wrote:Keith: For many if we don't have the tourists there would be no work to go to.

My point still stands Don.

Post by **Gillespie** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:04 pm

The best thing anyone can do Tom or all folks, is send me letters emphasizing that we/you would like to see better bike lanes along the highway and that may help. There is extra money available from what I understand to increase bike lanes. They could have overpaved both sides of the now underway Boyne City road rebuilding with 5 foot lanes outside the "fog" line. A group had that declined and now want detached bike lanes which would be wonderful but nearly impossible along that route, there are hundreds of driveways to cross creating double stops for all the homeowners along that route, etc. etc. The cost for the ENTIRE Boyne City road, on both sides to pave it wider, would have been 600,000, over 13 miles! To do it the other way is nearly 6 million!! We can want but we have to be practical. And yes Keith, you are right, those riding a bike might not be in as much a hurry as some who are heading to work or the airport or a fire or a new baby, the State Police set speed limits!

Beaver Island Michigan

Beaver Island Road Striping

Beaver Island Road Striping

Complete Streets Legislation (Public Acts 134 and 135)