The Putnam Township Board of Trustees is teaming up with the Village Council in Pinckney to make a busy street safer for kids and pedestrians.

Last week the Village Council approved spending up to $5,000 for engineered drawings of a potential new sidewalk on Dexter-Pinckney Road from M-36 to the high school. Putnam Township Supervisor Dennis Brennan said that he, too, has been wanting to put a path in there for a long time. The stretch was identified as being dangerous for students walking to and from school with there being no sidewalks and the road becoming very narrow in parts. Brennan suggested that the Board of Trustees approve chipping in up to $2,500, or half of the Village’s amount, of the design costs. He said he’s has discussions with Livingston County Road Commission Managing Director Mike Craine and that Craine believes it will probably come in closer to $3,000. Paving on Dexter-Pinckney Road is already scheduled to take place in 2018, but Brennan said he was told there wasn’t enough in the Road Commission’s budget to add a sidewalk. Still, the supervisor said Craine told him there is a possibility that the Road Commission’s engineers may draw the plans up for the township and village for free.

The board also discussed grant opportunities as well as having developers in the area chip in. They voted unanimously in favor of helping with up to $2,500 and taking, what they agreed to be, was the first step in the right direction. (MK)