Bay City Commission to vote on return of Feet on the Street

BAY CITY, Mich. (WNEM) - A decision to close several roads for summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day will be voted on Monday night.

The proposal is for the return of Feet on the Street, a program that started during the pandemic to allow bars and restaurants to extend their services outdoors.

Bay City leaders said it is a tough decision.

“It’s beautiful weather in Michigan in the summer. It’s just the ambiance of being outside and dining that’s something that’s really a great thing to do,” the manager of Bay City, Dana Muscott, said.

That is why Muscott said Feet on the Street may be returning this year. Monday night, April 3, the Bay City Commission will consider a resolution that, if approved, would restore street closures in downtown Bay City for the 2023 Feet on the Street season.

“We’ve done surveys and the DDA and the DMV have done their own survey and those have come back favorable of closing the streets for the summer,” Muscott said. “We have some people concerned about parking, that’s always a concern, and some other merchants that feel the street needs be open.”

The program would close part of Third Street near Saginaw Street, Center Street from Saginaw Street to Washington Street, and Saginaw Street from Center to Fifth Street.

Muscott said Feet on the Street has proved to be favorable among residents and out-of-towners.

“We have people come from all over the place in previous years. So, if they’re coming from let’s say Detroit and they’re coming up here, they’re going to spend their money in our shops, they’re going to our bars and restaurants, they’re coming to Bay City for the first time, and we’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘We’re coming back because we really liked Feet on the Street.’ So, it’s a lot to look at it’s a big decision for the City Commission but we take everybody’s comments seriously and they’ll have to decide whether to do that or not,” Muscott said.

The meeting is set to start at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 3.

If approved the plan will be in place for the next 5 years.

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