Increased Traffic Near Stonecliffe Prompts Purchase of New Street Sweeper
By Karen Gould

At left: The Mackinac Island Service Company's horse-drawn street sweeper heads up Cadotte Avenue past Grand Hotel May 4. Company employees are (from left) Jason McCal, Al Brown, and Zak Cripps.

Mackinac Island Service Company will have a new horse-drawn street sweeper in operation early this month. The new sweeper should resolve concerns expressed by one resident that downtown streets are not clean enough, said Bill Chambers, president of the company. It was expected to arrive on the Island by June 6.

Increased traffic in the Stonecliffe area prompted the purchase of the new sweeper.

"The amount of traffic that now goes to Stonecliffe and the airport is entirely different than two years ago," Dr. Chambers said. "There are shuttles going, there are taxis going. Four or five years ago, that road was never swept, once. Now, it's two times a day."

The new mechanical sweeper will allow Mackinac Island Service Company to have two sweepers running all the time, with one other in reserve. Each mechanical sweeper covers approximately two miles of Island roadways in an hour.

The company sweeps and flushes city streets under a fiveyear contract with the City of Mackinac Island, and also cleans the roads it uses in Mackinac Island State Park, at no charge to the park. This service is provided in lieu of the typical $180 per-horse fee charged by the park to horserelated businesses that do not have their own street cleaning capabilities.

An experienced person will be sweeping side streets in Harrisonville, Dr. Chambers said. Each mechanical sweeper, in addition to the driver, has a helper, who has a wheelbarrow, broom, and shovel, and will sweep the side roads in Harrisonville.

Over the last two months, the City Council's Streets Committee has been working with the Service Company after resident Larry Parel complained about odor in town.

"I'm not asking for an extraordinary thing," said Mr. Parel during the April meeting. "I'm asking for the streets to be clean."

Resident Candi Smith asked if Harrisonville could be swept twice a day by hand sweepers, who use a broom and shovel.

Other concerns were voiced over smelly manure stored near Edgewood housing in Harrisonville each day before it is taken to the solid waste facility, and that Fort Street near the Governor's Summer Residence needs more frequent cleaning, although that area is on State Park property.

In response to complaints that the mechanical sweeper brushes push manure to the roadside, contributing to the odor, Dr. Chambers explained that if brushes are not adjusted properly, the sweeper will leave a trail on the roadway, but he said the sweeper does not push the waste onto the roadside. Sweeper operators lower sweeper brushes as they become worn, he said, but improper adjustment can lead to the problem. He will make sure brushes are checked daily, he told the committee.

"We're going to make some adjustments" said Mayor Margaret Doud. "We're going to put some people in the Village" of Harrisonville. She also said manure should be brought directly to the solid waste facility and not stored.

At the April meeting, Mr. Parel told Mayor Doud he would continue to come to the Street Committee meetings until street cleaning issues were resolved. He suggested that the city consider putting diapers on the horses, as is done in New York City and Chicago.

During a follow-up meeting on the street cleaning issue Thursday, May 24, Mr. Parel said he had seen positive changes in cleaning. Manure now is going to the solid waste facility, he said, rather than being piled in the Edgewood area.

He is not the only resident concerned about clean streets, he told the committee. Also, he said Harrisonville still needs workers with brooms and shovels sweeping in the area.

"I think that we're making progress," said Mayor Doud. "I think every little bit is better and we're pointed in the right direction."

By early June, a portable flusher will be used on problem areas on Main Street and side streets, said Dr. Chambers. The streets will be flushed with a high pressure hose throughout the day, as needed. Early spring flushing takes longer because sand accumulates in street crevices over the winter.

Once the flushing operation begins, hosing should improve within a week, he said, adding, "The more you flush, the easier it is."

Committee member Armin Porter asked for increased attention to flushing near Shepler's Dock on Main Street, where horse manure and urine accumulate.