MDOT looking for volunteers to count Ludington Ave. traffic.

Ludington Avenue looking east from William Street.

MDOT looking for volunteers to count Ludington Ave. traffic.

#MasonCountyNews #Ludington

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief. 

LUDINGTON — The Michigan Department of Transportation is looking for volunteers to conduct traffic counts on Ludington Avenue to determine if the street should be converted to a three lane road on a trial basis between Jackson Road (eastern city limits) and William Street. Ludington Avenue is overseen by MDOT because it is two state highways, US 10 west to James Street and then M-116 west to Lakeshore Drive.

In a memo to Mayor Kaye Holman and City Council, City Manager John Shay said MDOT can provide the city with up to four traffic counting devices and the training to use the devices, but would need volunteers to conduct the traffic counts.

“As part of this process, MDOT would like to conduct traffic counts at various intersections on Ludington Avenue in order to determine the amount of current traffic at these intersections and the turning movements of the vehicles,” Shay said.

The traffic counting would occur as follows:

A volunteer would be located at the following intersections: Jackson Road, Staffon Street, Madison Avenue, Washington Avenue, Harrison Street, James Street, Rath Avenue, and Robert Street.

The traffic counts would take place on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday before the end of August.

The traffic counts would take place on one of the above days at the following times: 6 to 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 3 to 6 p.m.

One volunteer could handle all three shifts at the same intersection on a particular day or a volunteer could work on shift. The volunteer would have to remain at the intersection for the entire two- or three-hour shift without taking a break in order to ensure an accurate count of the traffic numbers and turning movements.

Once the information is obtained, MDOT would analyze the results and schedule a public meeting, possibly in September, in order to review the information and to see if the city would like to proceed with restripping the road on a trial basis.

Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to contact Shay at 231-845-6237 or jshay@ci.ludington.mi.us.