Residents requesting a street light for the bus stop at Fairledge and Renfrew will get approval, but Orion Township Treasurer James Marleau hopes the board’s action won’t set a precedent in the community.
Residents presented a petition at the Sept. 15 board of trustees meeting asking the township to approve their request for a street light to be placed at the intersection of Fairledge and Renfrew. They said the area is a school bus stop, with three different buses picking up students there, and that the location is very dark in the winter and often foggy in the fall.
“It’s in my neighborhood, and there’s an awful lot of pedestrian traffic there all the time,” said clerk Jill Bastian, who moved that the board approve the citizens’ request.
Trustee Richard Tomczak noted that it is normally in the criteria for the township for placing street lights that they not be placed in the interior of a subdivision.
“Except for school bus stops,” he said. “Are we making an exception?”
“When I saw the school bus stop (mentioned by the residents), that would be the reason,” Bastian said, adding that a lot of motorists use Fairledge to cut over from Heights to Clarkston Road.
“There’s lots of vehicle and pedestrian traffic there,” she said.
Marleau wondered why the bus stop couldn’t be moved.
“Maybe they should pick up on Renfrew,” he said. “Why pick them up in the middle of the intersection?
Tomczak wondered how the neighbors who would be directly impacted by the light felt about the proposal. The presenter of the petition said all the residents in that area had been asked and no one had voiced a complaint.
“The citizens who live there are in the best position to know if they need a light or not, if it’s a safety hazard,” said supervisor Jerry Dywasuk.
Marleau said he wasn’t sure how many bus stops were in the Lake Orion School District, but he could guarantee not all of them were on major roads.
“If they’re not on a major road, they don’t have a light,” he said. “You’re setting a precedent, in my opinion, for the township to put lights up (at all the bus stops).”
Tomczak said he believed the township’s reasons for approving the Fairledge/Renfrew light; having a bus stop, heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic, children’s safety and fog issues, justified the approval.
“I can live with the reasons why,” he added.