White Lake School Zone Signs Simplified

It is a story making national headlines, being discussed on local radio stations and even mentioned on Good Morning America and now the issue of extremely wordy road signs may have been resolved.

The school zone signs, telling drivers to slow to 25 mph during school days, originally cited seven different school zone times. The signs located off Bogie Lake Road, near White Lake Middle School, have been been changed citing just two blocks of time during which motorists should adjust their speed.

White Lake Supervisor Greg Baroni said the change was made around 10 a.m. Thursday. "I just got off the phone with the (Huron Valley School) district and they didn't know about the change," Baroni said. "It was likely a change made by the county."

Craig Bryson, public information officer with the Road Commission for Oakland County, confirmed the county did change the signs.

"This wasn't our ideal alternative, and we will still be meeting with the school distirct and township to discuss the installation of a flashing yellow light and how the district would pay their portion per standard procedure," Bryson said.

Bryson said the Road Commission has offered the school district two options for electronic flashing signs. One would cost $38,000 and the second would cost $28,000. "Per Road Commission operating instructions, we would pay one-third of the cost," he said. "The school district or some other party or consortium of parties must pay the remainder of the cost."

Baroni, like Bryson, also wants to pursue a different sign, "We still want to look at the possibility of flashing yellow or digital signs for that area because of the three schools located there."

White Lake Patch first reported the issue in an Ask the Chief Column on Feb. 6 in which White Lake resident Angela Pomerleau asked about the possibility of changing the sign. She said, "As the signs read right now, there are at least six different time periods with obscure times listed on them, such as 6:49 a.m. – 7:17 a.m. I travel to the schools each morning as a passenger and I try to read them to see if we are in the specified times and I can’t, that is when I am a passenger"

Several residents chimed in on the comments section of the column, echoing Pomerleau's concerns.

"I completely agree," Christina Hill wrote. "I say the same thing every time I go through there as I have kids in those schools as well."

The old signs stated drivers, on school days, needed to slow down to 25 mph at six different times: between 6:49 a.m.-7:15 a.m.; 7:52 a.m.-8:22 a.m.; and 8:37 a.m.-9:07 a.m. during the mornings. In the afternoons the time listed were 2:03 p.m.-2:33 p.m., 3:04 p.m.-3:34 p.m. and 3:59 p.m.-4:29 p.m.

The new signs state the school zone will be in effect from 6:49 a.m.-9:07 a.m. in the mornings and 2:03 p.m.-4:29 p.m.

Are you happy with the changes or would you rather see the flashing yellow signs?

Editor's Note: The prices of the signs were clarified, along with the method of payment.