The Marquette City Commission approved a $6,000 contract to remove new lane markings.
MARQUETTE -- The City of Marquette is paying for its mistake after McClellan Avenue was reconfigured with two bike lanes and a center turn lane.
On Monday, the city commission approved a $6,000 contract to JCS, Inc. of Baraga to remove the striping.
In addition to the mess on McClellan, Seventh Street was also reconfigured with a bike lane.
At their meeting, commissioners heard from frustrated residents.
"This morning I sat for three hours and counted the bikes that went by," said a Seventh Street resident, "and in that time, about 14 bikes went by."
The new bike lane eliminates parking for residents.
Another Seventh Street resident told commissioners, "If anyone comes to visit me, if any electrician, plumber, or painter comes to do work at my house, they can't park there."
Although it was slated for city commissioners to discuss removing the stripes on McClellan Avenue, doing the same for Seventh Street was added to the agenda.
"I certainly do not see an overwhelming public need to have bike lanes on Seventh Street," said commissioner Fred Stonehouse.
The city commission unanimously approved removing the newly added lanes.
"I think we owe an apology to our citizens on Seventh Street and McClellan Avenue," said commissioner Robert Niemi.
The city commission also made a motion that for any plans that will result in significant changes to the city, be approved by the city commission before contracts are awarded. They hope that this will avoid any problems in the future, so they're not paying to smooth things over.
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