GREENVILLE, Mich. — FOX 17 took a drive to Greenville on Thursday to check out the new left-turn light along the main business strip in town, right by Meijer. There's been a change in lights there, and people are excited about the green arrow now present on M-57.
Take a left at the light and you'll find yourself right in the middle of the talk of the town in Greenville.
“It is a bad spot. Because people are too impatient to wait for that light to change, one, and two, everybody coming in and out of town, they’re so impatient that they can’t get somebody to break to make the turn," Greenville resident Jay Pickel said.
Jay Pickel's Facebook post about the newly added light has at least 600 likes and 200 comments.
FOX 17 spoke to Jay over the phone on Thursday.
Jay says the spot where Washington meets Greenville West Drive is a notorious one.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve skipped going to the grocery store because of that turn lane,” Pickel said.
Jay's not alone. Karen O'Neill knows the turn into the businesses along Washington is a tricky one.
“That light is crazy. So much traffic goes through there,” Greenville resident Karen O'Neill said.
It's why MDOT installed a new left-turn arrow.
“It’s a growing area. They’ve had a lot of development. There’s a Meijer right there,” Jon Richard, Grand Rapids Communication Representative for MDOT, said.
MDOT looked into traffic in the area and decided it was time to make this addition — adding the project had been delayed for a few years because of COVID and cost.
“It has to meet federal and state warrants for traffic volumes,” Richard said.
The intersection met the mark.
“To have left turn lanes there now is awesome,” O'Neill said.
Karen used the light for the first time on Thursday.
“I have seen accidents there before. Seems to be frequently,” O'Neill said.
Jay says it's going to make the whole town better.
“Greenville is a small community and everybody talks. One of the biggest conversations is we needed a light there,” Pickel said.
The talk of the town is a left made right.
“Everybody in the community knows that we needed that light for a very long time,” Pickel said.
People in Greenville are hopeful that there will be fewer accidents at the intersection with the added light.
MDOT says they've adjusted the timing of the other lights along M-57 as well.
