STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — If you've driven through Sterling Heights, you know that the roads are busy.
Sterling Heights Assistant City Manager, Dale Dwojakowski, told 7 News Detroit, "I think it’s always shocking when you tell people that we have over 4,000 crashes a year, just in Sterling Heights."
In fact, Dwojakowski said that every year, 6 to 7 people die due to traffic crashes in the city.
"30 to 40 people are involved in serious injury accidents every single year in Sterling Heights, so this is a very, very serious problem," said Dwojakowski. "Not only life and safety, but also for all of our residents that live in neighborhoods and communities around Sterling Heights."
It's because of this that the City of Sterling Heights said they are taking action.
Using traffic data from the last five years and community input, they are rolling out a Comprehensive Transportation Safety Action Plan.
According to Dwojakowski, there is a whole traffic calming task force behind it; "The task force is made up of all different parts of city government, police, fire, DPW, engineering, everyone’s involved."
The Safety Action Plan is part of a global movement aimed at eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries by 2050.
To do this, Sterling Heights said that they have already implemented several traffic calming initiatives to enhance roadway safety.
These efforts include speed cushions to reduce vehicle speeds while maintaining emergency response times, traffic circles to control traffic flow and encourage safer speeds at intersections, medians to narrow roadways and provide pedestrian refuge areas, curb extensions to slow turning vehicles and create safer pedestrian crossings, rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) at key crosswalks to improve visibility for pedestrians, and painted crosswalks with highly visible designs to alert drivers to pedestrian zones.
Dwojakowski commented, "There’s so many different things that you can do, from an engineering standpoint, to slow down cars."
Residents are encouraged to participate in the plan by filling out this traffic calming request form.
7 News Detroit spoke to multiple residents about the Safety Action Plan.
Resident Susan Binno told us she's noticed lots of speeding in the city and is encouraged to hear about the plan.
Resident Tom Szatkowski said speeding is especially bad on the road his house sits on.
"Sometimes I sit on my porch in the summertime and watch these guys go by 35, 40 miles per hour," said Szatkowski.
Szatkowski said that he took his concerns to the city council, and the city then painted a speed limit warning in front of his house.
He said that it's a start, but he hopes to see more done.
Dwojakowski commented, "All of this together will make our roadways safer over the next decades."
