Street Committee Tackles Sidewalk Permits
By Jessica Delaney

New ideas and applications were the primary focus when the City Council Street Committee met Thursday, June 30. Primary concerns for the committee were dealing with trailers, snow plowing equipment, and sidewalk permits.

Discussion ensued regarding an application for a tractor by Gary Urman. The vehicle would be used for snow removal and some maintenance, but did not fit into any of the city’s categories for motor vehicles. Mr. Urman’s tractor is too large to be considered a lawn and garden tractor, and under current city law, there can not be contracted vehicles parked in residential areas. Because the tractor in question would be used for snow removal, it would be considered a contracted vehicle.

The city has made exceptions in the past when it came to snow plow vehicles, because of a dedication to keeping roads clear in the winter. The committee decided to consider adding a new category to the city’s licensing for snow removal vehicles. In the meantime, the request from Mr. Urman has been denied.

The committee also discussed allowing trailers on the Island. Currently, there is no uniformity of requirements for trailer permits; each permit is treated on a case by case basis. Trailers are typically pulled by horse-drawn drays. The recent ordinance governing the use of luggage carts, which also are pulled by drays, outlines several general health and safety concerns, which the city feels may be applicable to trailers.

The committee discussed the possibility of creating an application for trailer permits, which could possibly include restrictions on weight, bulk, length, and width, as well as requiring the applicant to explain the purpose of the trailer, and why articles contained within the trailer cannot be transported on a dray.

There was an agreement among committee members that, at times, trailers can be necessary. Said city engineer Dennis Dombroski, “We give special consideration to very fragile things, which may need to be transported in a trailer.”

Alderman Mike Hart argued that “trailers are offensive to the spirit of this place. Applications for a motor vehicle require that it be necessary, not just convenient, and we need to apply that same criteria to trailers.”

Mayor Margaret Doud suggested that the committee continue to consider creating an application for trailers, but that it is an issue which does not necessarily need to be immediately addressed.

Another problem before the committee is sidewalk permits. In many instances, two footers, drays with two-foot sidewalls which are used to transport construction debris, trash, and other such materials, will sit on streets and sidewalks for long periods of time. The committee discussed the necessity of giving out sidewalk permits, and discussed the best way to issue such permits. An agreement was reached that there will need to be a joint signature between the property owner and the dray company to make certain that the two footers be removed within a specified period of time. The issue will be discussed further at a later time.

The final issue on the city agenda was the Mackinac Island Bicycle Shop, which has been displaying bikes for sale on the sidewalk. The committee decided that the bicycles would be permissible on that section of cement walkway that is on the property of the business.

The committee also discussed the necessity of signs on French Lane to denote it as a one-way street for carriages, but came to no conclusion