UM Football Game Day Street Closures OK’d
City streets on three sides of the University of Michigan football stadium will have traffic restrictions on game days in 2013. The Ann Arbor city council action authorizing street and lane closures came at its Aug. 8, 2013 meeting.
UM football game day street closures (pink) with detour route (purple).
Vehicle access on the fourth side of Michigan Stadium, on university property, will also be restricted.
The street closures are new security measures. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, it’s part of an effort to increase safety by creating a vehicle-free zone around the stadium, and involves a cooperative effort with the University of Michigan, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the city of Ann Arbor police department.
Most of the traffic controls would be in place for the period starting three hours before a game until the end of the game. However, in an amendment to the resolution made during the council’s Aug. 8 meeting, the closure of the southbound lane on Main Street was restricted to just one hour before the game start.
Traffic controls include the following. E. Keech Street between S. Main and Greene streets would be closed. Access to Greene Street from E. Hoover to E. Keech streets would be limited to parking permit holders. The westbound lane on E. Stadium Blvd. turning right onto S. Main Street (just south of the Michigan Stadium) would be closed. And S. Main Street would be closed from Stadium Blvd. to Pauline.
During the meeting an amendment was made to the resolution, stating that after the first three football games, the AAPD will meet with the neighborhood and make a report at the city council’s Oct. 7 meeting.
The council’s vote was 7-4 with dissent coming from Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Margie Teall (Ward 4), Marcia Higgins (Ward 4), and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1).
This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]