SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Road Commission for Oakland County wants to hear the community's voice. It's looking for feedback to make roads safer, through an online interactive map pointing out outage maps.
An online survey from the commission already has hundreds of comments, from people concerned about speeding, congestion and unclear signs or markings. I decided to go to one of those areas to check it out.
Even in the rain, Edward McCutchen bikes to work, using 10 Mile Road and Greenfield Road. He told me he gets nervous crossing the intersection, because he doesn't always feel safe.
“Someone just ran a red light, a matter of fact, when I was crossing and coming this way, so yeah it can be dangerous," McCutchen said.
He's not alone: on the Road Commission for Oakland County's map, where people can drop a pin and submit a comment about safety concerns, right at 10 Mile and Greenfield, someone reported feeling uncomfortable to walk or bike in the area. Once I saw the comment, I went to the intersection to check it out, and it wasn't hard to find concerned pedestrians.
“I’ve seen older people try to cross the street and almost get hit by cars, little kids, the kids that go to the school right over here, so this intersection is very dangerous," said Southfield resident Daniel Gilbert. “You can watch now, it says walk but he didn’t stop or pause, so that is usually how it happens.”
"Is there anything that can be done, I asked Craig Bryson, Senior Communications Manager for the Road Commission for Oakland County.
"Absolutely, we are always taking a look at these things," Bryson replied. "We did just check to make sure all the pedestrian crosswalks are working correctly here at this intersection, part of the problem is there’s 52,000 cars a day that come through this intersections, it's a very busy intersection, and it's always going to be a little bit challenging when there is that much traffic at an intersection, but if there are specific things that people see, we would definitely like to know about them.”
That's where this map comes in, where you can voice your safety concerns. So, what is the Road Commission going to do with those concerns once they get them?
“We have a committee that is going to review all them, look at things to see if there are improvements we can make, see if it is driver related, if it is road related, and then for those we can address, we are going to seek federal grants to address them," Bryson said.
"Do you always have to have your guard up here? I asked Gilbert.
“Pretty much, you gotta walk across the street and look behind yourself all the time," Gilbert replied.
People have until September 30 to submit a comment.
