Ely isn't a one-stoplight town, the northern Minnesota tourist hamlet's mayor wants to make clear.
So when state Department of Transportation officials said traffic volume doesn't warrant two of the town's three stoplights on its main thoroughfare, Hwy. 169, Mayor Roger Skraba and others balked.
The lights are more than 30 years old and need replacing, MnDOT officials said. Next summer, as workers re-do the road, the state wants to remove one stoplight at the intersection with 1st Avenue. Traffic numbers are also low for the light at 3rd Avenue, they said.
Skraba said his town of nearly 3,500 residents, which swells with up to 600,000 visitors over a summer, may want more traffic control than the state deems necessary.
MnDOT district engineer Duane Hill said they'll keep talking, as Ely would have to split the cost of lights at the intersections: "We're not going to force the city to accept this."
