Peninsula Trustees Address Center Road, Approve Fire Station Contract/Bayshore Event

In the wake of the second fatal crash on Center Road in three months, Peninsula Township trustees are working with local and state officials to address speeding and safety issues on Old Mission. Those could new rumble strips along the road shoulder and more law enforcement action, with Grand Traverse County Sheriff Mike Shea promising an “increased presence” in the township. Trustees Tuesday also voted to move forward with a new fire station design and approved plans for the 2027 Bayshore Marathon.

Speeding/Safety
Peninsula Township is exploring potentially installing a new type of rumble strip – called a “mumble strip” – along the shoulders of Center Road.

According to Dan Wagner of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the mumble strips could work alongside existing “robust curve warning signage, roadside delineators, and centerline rumble strips” to increase safety. While MDOT has “historically avoided placing shoulder rumble strips on the peninsula due to the heavy number of bicyclists and pedestrians,” mumble strips are quieter and narrow than traditional rumble strips, Wagner says.

“This allows for the benefit to the drivers of the audible and tactile feedback if their vehicle starts to depart the lane and still leaves space on the shoulder for bicyclists and pedestrians to use,” accordng to Wagner. Michigan data shows up to a 50 percent reduction in run-off-the-road crashes from such treatments, he said.

Mumble strips are already in place in Grand Traverse County on M-37 from Vance Road to Railroad Bridge, US-31 south of Rennie School Road to McRae Hill Road, and M-72 from Acme Road to Lautner Road and Arnold Road to Baggs Road. Trustees encouraged residents to visit those locations and share feedback on whether they want them on Old Mission.

Officials met with MDOT following two recent accidents on Center Road, including an August 16 crash that killed Wilder Seeburger and an October 3 accident that killed Jason Soloman and hospitalized driver Jackson Lakies. All three were TC Central students. Charges have been filed against the driver in the August 16 crash. The October 3 accident remains an open investigation and has not yet been referred to the prosecutor to review for possible charges against Lakies, according to D/Captain Chris Clark. Sheriff Michael Shea says detectives are likely still waiting on toxicology results. 

Old Mission Peninsula has a long history of crashes over the decades and repeated complaints about speeding and safety on Center Road and Peninsula Drive. While trustees inquired about their use Tuesday, automated speed cameras are generally illegal outside of work zones in Michigan. But the Sheriff’s Office – working with the Michigan State Police – plans to increase enforcement on Old Mission. Officers have already been out issuing dozens of citations in recent days. Shea declined to share more specifics but says enforcement will be “ongoing and not a one-and-done. I would tell residents and visitors to expect to see an increased presence.”

Shea has a farm on Old Mission and often hears cars racing from his property. However, hearing potential speeding is different than visually identifying it, he says. He encourages residents – especially those with dash cams or cell footage – to report reckless driving. Prosecution increases when witnesses are willing to testify, he says.

Shea says it’s impossible to have deputies installed around-the-clock on Old Mission given the entire 466 square miles the Sheriff’s Office is responsible for patrolling. Incidents also don’t always occur at predictable times. “If you asked someone when they thought there’d be peak times of reckless driving, I don’t think they’d say 7:30am on a Saturday morning,” he says, referring to the October 3 crash. While greater enforcement will “hopefully make a difference, it’s not going to be the only solution,” Shea says.

“I feel very strongly in saying this is a community issue, and it’s been going on a long time,” he says. “We need parents to talk to their kids, and kids to talk to their friends. We need to acknowledge this is not cool behavior. We need to police ourselves.”

Also at Tuesday’s Peninsula Township meeting….
> Trustees voted 5-2 to move forward with design and bidding work for the construction of a new fire station on township property north of the township hall on Center Road. The board has long been researching options to replace Station 1 in Mapleton next to Peninsula Market, which is deteriorating and lacks the space, energy efficiency, and ADA accessibility needed for the facility, according to the fire chief.

Cunningham-Limp presented two options for configuring space on the township property that could include either relocating the township hall and building the fire station in its place or putting the fire station north of the hall and lifting the hall so the lower level could be built out, providing more administrative and meeting space. Trustees agreed given the financial challenges facing Peninsula Township that renovating the hall is not an immediate need but could be done in the future. Building the new fire station – funded by a recently approved fire millage increase – is the priority, according to the board, with the north site the preferred option for both cost and logistical reasons. The new fire station is estimated to cost roughly $9.6 million. Two trustees, J.P. Milliken and Dave Sanger, opposed the design work due to wanting to pursue another location option for the station.

> Trustees approved a permit application from the Traverse City Track Club to hold the Bayshore Marathon on May 29, 2027. Organizers said next year’s race will largely mirror this year’s, including the same marathon course along East Shore Drive, Center Road, and Bluff Road and the same number of participants (7,600 maximum across the marathon, half marathon, and 10K). Trustees asked for better set-up and removal of temporary signage as well as more thorough litter clean-up during the event weekend. The 2027 race will mark the 45th anniversary of the Bayshore.