Councilman: Road Diet Meeting Similar to ‘Timeshare Sales Presentation’
Midland City Councilman Steve Arnosky (Ward 3) accused City staff of “pushing the lane closure” this past weekend in a Facebook post to constituents on the Buttles road diet study.
“At last weeks road diet trial community conversation, I felt like I was at a [timeshare] sales presentation complete with sales associates strategically seated at every table,” Mr. Arnosky wrote.
The Midland City Council held a special town hall meeting on the road diet at at Memorial Presbyterian Church last week.
Mr. Arnosky said that the meeting was set up in a way to influence the attendees to agree to permanently closing a lane on Buttles St. He urged the community to find other ways to achieve the objectives of the study.
“The key unanswered question remains why a lane must be closed when there are other less intrusive ways to accomplish all of the objectives that were covered during the presentation,” he wrote, “Ways that would not cause the completely unnecessary division within our community.”
In May, Mr. Arnosky moved during a City Council meeting to end the City’s support of the road diet. The motion failed 3-2 with City Councilman Pam Hall joining Mr. Arnosky. As community complaints increase, Mr. Arnosky has become an outspoken critic of the Buttles road diet study.
“The role of the City Council and by extrapolation the City staff should be to impartially evaluate the road diet and determine what it is accomplishing,” Mr. Arnosky told the City Paper. “I saw the five or six videos that are on Facebook that are primarily led by [City of Midland Director of Planning & Community Development] Grant Murschel, that really look at the road diet and try to promote its benefits as opposed to weighing the pros and cons. Which is what I think the City should be doing here—looking at not just the potential benefits of the road diet, but also what the cons are, and recognize and acknowledge that it’s not perfect. It’s created a lot of division in the community, and I don’t think that’s being given proper weight.”
Mr. Murschel declined comment.
Mr. Arnosky told the City Paper that he believes the road diet study to be more unpopular than some officials appear to acknowledge.
“There’s some perception by the proponents of reducing the lane that it’s just a few people, a few loud voices that are complaining,” he said. “That is absolutely not my experience.”
mike@chemicalcitypaper.com | @Westendorf
Michael Westendorf is the chairman and executive editor of Chemical City Paper. As Executive Editor, he leads the City Paper’s news coverage and editorial team.