Seven SE Oakland Cities Collaborating on Safe Streets Plan
(Crystal A. Proxmire, May 13, 2024)
Pleasant Ridge, MI – Car crashes, serious injuries, and deaths are part of life for people who drive, walk, bike, or roll on roadways. But a collaborative effort with seven SE Oakland County communities hopes to make such tragedies a thing of the past.
The Cities of Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Hazel Park, Oak Park, Madison Heights, Huntington Woods, and Berkley are teaming up to create a Safety Action Plan, and the public input part of the process began last week with a town hall in Pleasant Ridge. The cities are working with Toole Design Group to guide the process and draft the plan.
Officials and residents from each city were on hand to learn the background of crashes in the community, and to share their experiences.
In the seven cites, there were 24,282 reported crashes between 2019 and 2023. Among them were 275 serious injuries, and 41 fatalities. Statewide, Michigan had 7,110 crashes with serious injury or fatality in 2021. MDOT’s goal is to reduce that to zero by 2050.
“There are many components to safety,” said Drew Parker, a senior planner at Toole Design Group. “Human beings make mistakes. But we can design roads to accommodate mistakes.”
He also shared that speed is the biggest factor in the severity of injuries and the potential for death. At 20 mph, there is only a 13% chance injury or death. At 30 mph that increases to 40%. And at 40 mph that number is 73%.
Another statistic shared was that pedestrians in low income areas are more at risk of being struck than those in wealthier communities. “That has a lot to do with the type of infrastructure in low income communities,” he said.
The Federal Highway Administration has identified 28 “proven safety measures” that communities can consider as they work to create safer environments for travelers.
For speed management, communities can consider making sure that posted speeds are appropriate, as well as setting variable speed limits such as those used for certain hours in school zones. Speed safety cameras are also an option. Several options aim to protect pedestrians and bicyclists, including medians and pedestrian refuge islands, bike lanes, road diets, and flashing lights at crosswalks.
Rumble strips, median barriers, and improving roadway designs at curves are among the options to prevent roadway departure. Intersections are a common place for crashes, and the site lists several remedies, including roundabouts, dedicated turn lanes, and what locals like to call Michigan lefts, which the FHA calls “reduced left-turn conflict intersections.”
These options are a starting point for the local plan. Kristin Saunders of Toole Design Group explained that the firm is analyzing crash data and input from the public. The goal, she said, is to have a shared vision. It’s also to position the cities to apply for Federal grant money aimed at reducing injuries and deaths.
She also announced the launch of the website https://www.saferoadsseoakland.com/. There interested parties can sign up for emails, check out data, and get info on upcoming meetings. The next meeting will focus more on the specifics of crash data in the seven cities.
