What's bugging you Mid-Michigan?

Inadequate detour signs for the construction and closure of M-100 is what's bugging a group of Grand Ledge residents.

Residents say drivers are ignoring the detour directions, and instead using their quiet neighborhood streets to get around the city. The increase in traffic has residents worried about the safety of their kids, and bugged by the constant noise from cars and motorcycles.

Now, they're demanding action from MDOT and the city of Grand Ledge.

The noisiest traffic on E. Scott St. used to come from neighborhood kids playing outside.

"I have a five-year-old daughter," said Michael Fredericks, who lives on E. Scott St. "I have two-year-old boys. They toddle around. You have kids on bikes, this road - kids love to skateboard on it all the time. This is what they're used to and have had fun with, and now you have cars flying through here."

M-100, or E. Jefferson St., is a main artery through Grand Ledge, and closing it for construction between Bridge and Franklin streets means forcing thousands of cars to find alternate routes. Concerned residents say drivers are ignoring posted detour directions, and taking E. Scott instead.

"In an hour we usually we get 30 to 40 cars, now we're getting 300 to 400," explained Fredericks. "That's a tenfold increase that we deal with, and that's too much of a burden for anyone in the city to deal with."

Neighbors have even tried taking matters into their own hands.

"The activity is dangerous," said Joel Wortley, who also lives on E. Scott St. "We've begun parking our cars on the street to try to slow them down. Speed is not the biggest issue right now, it's just the volume. It's constant. It's all day long."

They say the city and MDOT needs to put up better detour signage to prevent cars from using their quiet neighborhood road.

"We just want the city and MDOT to help us," said Wortley. "We're asking for their help. They have not taken enough action in our estimation to stop all this traffic that's going by."

MDOT says it is aware of the traffic situation in Grand Ledge, and is working with city officials and local law enforcement to enforce the detour route.

Officials say the first few days of a new closure are typically the most difficult. M-100 was just closed on Tuesday, so as drivers begin to learn the detour route, they say things should get better.

City administrator John Bayles says they are making adjustments to the detour signage every day, and will probably continue to do so for the next week. He asks drivers to refrain from taking shortcuts through neighborhood roads like Scott St., and to stick to the detour route - which utilizes Saginaw Street, Jenne Street, and Bridge Street. He also says police will be ticketing any drivers caught speeding through those areas.