Politics & Government
Tour Lake St. Clair Signs Installed
Signs are being placed in St. Clair Shores, and throughout Macomb County, to raise awareness of Lake St. Clair and increase tourism along the waterfront.
Motorists traveling along Jefferson or exiting Interstate 94 at 9 Mile Road will notice new nautical-themed signs intended to raise awareness of Lake St. Clair and direct traffic to businesses in the communities along the waterfront.
The Macomb County Department of Roads is in the process of installing 50 signs throughout the county which feature a map of Lake St. Clair, "Circle The Lake Tour" wording and the address for the Tour Lake St. Clair website. The sign program should be complete before spring.
"This is the next major step in the development in (County Executive Mark Hackel's) in Macomb," said Gerard Santoro, land and water resources program manager for the Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development.
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This is the latest effort by Hackel to promote the waterways and businesses through the "Blue Economy Initiative," which has included dedicating a position in the planning and economic development department to coordinate the efforts of the watershed council, the water quality board and local businesses.
The circle tour was developed through a collaboration of the Lake St. Clair Tourism Initiative, the Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development and the Macomb County Department of Roads. The signage is similar to those placed along the Great Lakes.
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In addition to guiding motorists to the waterfront, there will also be signs directing visitors to the marina districts in St. Clair Shores and Harrison Township.
"If you didn't live in Grosse Pointe Shores or St. Clair Shores, you wouldn have a clue there is a lake," he added. "(The signs) are identifying the coastal attributes in Macomb County."
The first phase of the program is to place the signage in Macomb County, but could be expanded to include St. Clair and Wayne counties in addition to Detroit. Santoro added that municipalities in Canada may also be included.
"We have been talking about this for some time," said Donna Flaherty, president of the . "This gives us a lot of hope and inspiration."
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