The Streets Committee for the Mackinac Island City Council worried that canvas awnings in a proposed plan for the new bicycle rental outlet at the end of the Arnold Dock would block the view of downtown for tourists arriving at the dock.

During the committee meeting Tuesday, January 17, committee members also discussed new street signs and stricter policies for motor vehicles.

Carl Redder and Melanie Libby of Mackinac Cycle LLC, presented a site plan to show how the property layout would help control traffic congestion at their facility, which will replace the landscaped pedestrian walkway between the dock and Main Street. The design plans show a series of white picket fences that would help control the flow of traffic and keep customers out of the way of carriage traffic. They showed the committee their plans and asked for input on how to minimize traffic congestion.

The new rental operation will replace Lakeside Bicycle Rental, operated by Arnold Transit along the west side of the walkway. Arnold has leased the operation to Mackinac Cycle, owned by Ira Green, Ms. Libby, and Mr. Redder.

The dock area is an active hub for drays picking up and delivering freight, taxis picking up and dropping off travelers, hotel porters, and passengers coming and going.

“This is the center of town,” said Mayor Margaret Doud. “This is where the whole thing is happening. You’ve got carriages coming around, you’ve got the whole nine yards. You talk about a congested area, you’ve got one right here.”

The business will rent 200 bicycles but will keep only 75 of them at the head of the dock, the owners explained, while the rest will be stored in the warehouse at the end of the pier. Bicycle repairs will be made on the coal dock.

The plan calls for renters to enter the bike rental area from Main Street, be corralled into a fenced waiting area, leave with their bicycles near Main Street, but return their bikes near the taxi staging area on the dock.

“We have the ability to bring the queuing into the property,” Mr. Redder said. “We really want to move the people into the interior, get them off of the street, move them into this line.”

While patrons at other rental operations and gift shops spill onto the public sidewalks, already congested with pedestrians, Mr. Redder said his company’s ability to direct customers onto their property would help reduce traffic.

“We will have folks here that will be directing them off the sidewalk,” Ms. Libby said.

The committee members were less concerned about the traffic and focused their attention on the canvas awnings over the kiosk and bicycle racks.

Armin Porter termed the red and white striped covers at Ira Green’s Mackinac Island Bike Shop by the Shepler dock an eyesore, and Mayor Doud said similar awnings would a distraction to visitors coming off of Arnold dock.

“We’ve got to realize this is the first major visual image that the people get, and I don’t think we want a Disney World or something tacky,” Mayor Doud said. “The bottom line, it’s not Mackinac. I don’t care how you look at it, it is not Mackinac. We’re losing that image, and we’ve got to stop it.”

Mr. Redder explained that the awnings would be necessary to protect the employees and the bicycle equipment from both the sun and rain.

Council member Sam Barnwell agreed with Mayor Doud on the appearance of the covers and wondered whether a more permanent shelter would work better, like a wooden roof. Mr. Porter suggested something less permanent that could be taken down at night.

From here, the committee suggested presenting the site plan to the council to offer advice on traffic. The site plan will also be presented to the Planning Commission.

In other business, committee members worried about the pedestrian and snowmobile traffic on Main Street, owing to construction on Bicycle Street Inn. The committee wanted it clear that all motor vehicles with motor vehicle permits should yield the right-ofway to pedestrians, horses, and snowmobiles.

The interest formed following an incident within the last few weeks when a snowmobile was cut off by one of the construction vehicles crossing between the hotel construction site and its material staging site across the street.

Police Chief Jim Marks said the construction crew manager should have known that one of the construction workers should be on duty to direct traffic, so the trucks crossing Main Street would know when a pedestrian or snowmobile is crossing.

Council member Dan Wightman said this standard should apply to all construction projects, and his coworkers at Cloverland Electric are told that cars and trucks on Mackinac Island do not have the right of way. He said no matter where a truck is on the Island, the truck has to wait for the person or the horse.

“Whenever I have crews with vehicles,” he said, “one of the first things I tell my guys is that, when you’re driving on the Island, you’re the lowest form of transportation here.”

The committee decided to develop a list of restrictions for motor vehicles and add a stipulation that failing to follow the restrictions will result in a revoked permit.