South Lake Street is about to go through some changes. The power poles lining the street, placed obtrusively in the front yards of the street’s ever-evolving homes, are about to come down in favor of buried lines.
A few years ago, when the Marquette Board of Light and Power was making plans to replace the aging poles, they reached out to Lake Street homeowners and floated the idea of burying the lines. Reacting to that, residents of that near mile long stretch, formerly known for camps and more modest homes, got together and created the Marquette Lake Street Association. That group got the ball rolling on the BLP’s idea of doing away with the poles altogether, with the goal of ultimately improving the aesthetics of that now tony destination.
To make a short story even shorter… it’s happening. The association collected the necessary funds from property owners, negotiated with the various entities using the poles, and, working with the Board of Light and Power, finalized a plan to eliminate the poles and fashion an unobstructed view of Lake Superior.
Which brings us to…
Parking on Lake Street
Along with many of our other recreational attractions, South Beach is also experiencing a new level of popularity. With the power plant no longer looming overhead, both tourists and residents have found South Beach to be a great place to throw down a towel. Plenty of sand, shallow waters, and a stretch that welcomes dogs… ON LEASH, has meant bigger crowds than we previously witnessed down there.
But, as we’re seeing in other areas around town, more people means more problems. In this case, again, as in other areas around town, we’re talking about parking. On hot days, the South Beach parking lot fills up quickly. With no available side streets like you might find near McCarty’s Cove or Picnic Rocks, where is one to park?
Well, just up the grade from the current parking lot, there happens to be a vehicle-wide strip of land between the bike path and the street. So, rather than disappoint a carload of kids and head home, many people are opting to ignore the No Parking signs at each end of the street and hunker down right there, a short walk from the water.
Here’s the problem…
Actually, problems… plural. First, it’s illegal. Though the police department has been sympathetic with beachgoers and has generally avoided ticketing violators, opting instead for warnings, it’s still currently against the law.
Beyond that though is how it affects those homeowners who just committed a six-figure dollar amount specifically intended to enhance their view. So even though the power poles and lines may soon be gone, now their panorama is obstructed by bumper-to-bumper cars parking where it’s allegedly not allowed. Some of those residents raised that concern when they addressed a recent meeting of the city’s Traffic & Parking Advisory Committee, hoping the committee would re-affirm the city’s Lake Street parking ban.
Boo-hoo, you’re thinking? Cars park in front of my house all the time you say, and it’s just something I have to put up with, so get over it? That’s all well and good, but there are other factors at play here. Like safety. Squeezing cars into spaces not designated for parking lends itself to unseen dangers, like excited kids jumping out directly into traffic. Or doors opening wide into unsuspecting cyclists.
And just to make this more of a conundrum than it already is, residents use that strip themselves when hosting more guests than their driveways can accommodate.
Here’s the solution…
Take down the No Parking signs and let people use the median strip when the lot is full, and where it provides easier access to the area allowing dogs… ON LEASH. The amount of actual time the view will be spoiled by parking lot overflow is dwarfed by the amount of time South Beach is desolate due to inhospitable weather.
In addition to that, the Board of Light & Power has been proactively working on a plan to develop additional parking on their vacant Shiras Power Plant property, just north of the current South Beach lot. When done, that would add another 18 or so spots, which would help facilitate cars parking in an approved and appropriate lot.
That’s enough about parking challenges, and we didn’t even mention downtown and Presque Isle. We might just have to accept the fact that some of our parking problems are going to be hard to fix. Riding your bike or taking Marq-Tran is looking better every day.
More Margaret
In case you missed it, Margaret Brumm addressed the MAPS School Board during Public Comment at their regular meeting on July 15th. The gist of her comments was to update the board on the progress she’s making with the collection of signatures for her recall petitions of board members Jenn Klipp and Jennifer Ray, hereby referred to as the Jenns. Regarding the collection of signatures, Brumm says, “I’ve got hundreds, but I need thousands.”
In addition to the petition drive update, which I’m guessing the board could have done without, Brumm also suggested all board members resign their positions and refile for candidacy, running again to see what kind of support they’d get from the people. She even offered to pay the filing fee. It hurts my head to try to understand that idea, so we’ll just move on.
Bear with me here, as this gets a little complicated. If Margaret gets enough signatures by August 2nd, and they’re validated by the County Clerk, then the Jenns would be on the ballot in a separate section from the regular board election. In that, there are eight candidates currently running for three open spots, but these have nothing to do with the recall.
The recall would have its own section on the ballot, with the Jenns, and any others who have put their name in the hat to replace them. However, according to Marquette County Clerk Linda Talsma, no one has applied for candidacy to replace any recalled members, and the time to do that has already passed. So… it would take a write-in candidate who would have to get more votes than either of the Jenns in order to replace them, which, as we know, is a steep hill to climb.
Beyond all that, what’s the end game anyway? Let’s say the Jenns are recalled, as unlikely as that seems, and new members are elected to replace them. What then? We start the process to go back to Redmen? Oh my. Other than the fact this controversial issue has provided abundant fodder for Word on the Street… what a mess.
At this point, I think it’s best the recall fails and this issue becomes just another note in the storied history of Marquette Senior High School.
Go Sentinels!