A request came before the Royal Oak Traffic and Safety Committee to address the traffic light at 12 Mile and Connecticut. Currently that traffic light gives green lights to both crossing streets. However, there is not much traffic on Connecticut.

The city staff recommendation was to give a green light to 12 Mile traffic and only give a green to Connecticut when a car was present. The City would need to add a car detectors in the pavement.

The problem I saw was Connecticut is a major north-south connector for cyclists. The Red Run Golf Course prevents other north-south routes. I did not want to see cyclists waiting at Connecticut, failing to trigger a green light, and simply going through a red light.

I recommended the City add pavement markings letting cyclists know where they need to locate their bike on Connecticut in order to receive a green signal. There is a national standard for such markings as well as information signs. That recommendation turned into a motion that was approved by the Traffic and Safety Committee and is going before the City Commission tonight.

At that same Traffic Safety Committee meeting, I brought copies of Ann Arbor’s Traffic Calming guide, which I blogged about earlier this year. That Guide is in the Commissioners packets tonight as well.

I sit on Royal Oak’s Traffic and Safety Committee. The most common issue that comes before our committee is speeding on residential streets. Child and pedestrian safety drive the issue, but so does noise. Residents often ask for additional stop signs, the committee lets them know about their ineffectiveness and that we have no other options for them. Occasionally we will recommend increased enforcement, but realistically the Royal Oak police are overburdened with these requests already.

While Royal Oak doesn’t have a solution today, Ann Arbor does. They have developed a traffic calming program where residents can petition for changes that slow down vehicles in their neighborhood.  From my perspective, it’s a very realistic approach to addressing residents’ concerns.

Of course it’s relatively easy for a local governments to commit to supporting something like this. It’s quite another for them to commit to funding it. Based on their completed projects list, it appears Ann Arbor has stepped up.

From the Michigan Land Use Institute: “It’s not that Mr. Burden dislikes cars. It’s just that he is certain that the quality of life improves if people don’t spend so much time sitting in them. And, like everybody else, he can’t stand congestion. He’s come up with some unexpected solutions. The answer to traffic congestion in most towns isn’t making roads wider, says Mr. Burden. Just the opposite: Roads need to be put on a “diet.” Taking lanes away slows traffic but, surprisingly, the road then actually carries more vehicles more efficiently. Mr. Burden has other traffic remedies, such as shrinking intersections, constructing roundabouts, building boulevards with divided medians, and designing places where people can walk, bike, and ride public transit.”