The M-24 Access Management Steering Committee met with the public for the final time on Feb. 27.
Now all that remains for the plan is compiling a final list of recommendations and implementing the plan.
Officials from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), The Corradino Group of Michigan, Inc., and the five governing bodies that oversee M-24 from the I-75 ramps to Oakwood all noted that continued cooperation will be necessary if their final plan is to be successful.
‘The biggest benefit (of the project) has been meeting on a monthly basis,? said Project Manager Jim Hartman of the Corradino Group.
Hartman said the steering committee would continue to meet on a regular basis to monitor the plan.
‘We’re going to work hard over the next year to make sure this plan doesn’t sit on a shelf somewhere and collect dust,? he said.
Hartman led the presentation and then, along with Steve Stramsak of MDOT, answered a wide variety of questions about the corridor from the couple-dozen audience members present.
Hartman defined the concept of access management monitoring ‘the interaction between the driveway and the roadway itself.?
‘Studies have shown that decreasing the amount of driveways increases the access and the safety,? he said.
Questions ranged from how to deal with lights and signage near the Palace of Auburn Hills to ensuring access in downtown Oxford, and everything in between.
Orion Township Clerk Jill Bastian asked about the decision making process involved with choosing between indirect and direct left-hand turns.
Northbound M-24 at Clarkston is an indirect left that is getting attention from the committee. Direct lefts are already present at other intersections like Silverbell and Waldon Roads.
‘It’s case by case,? Stramsak said. ‘Some things will work in a particular case and some things won’t.?
‘It’s not trial and error,? added Hartman. ‘There’s a plan for the entire corridor.?
The pair noted that the implementation of a fast-trac system, which could take place this year, would also have a big impact on traffic along the corridor.
‘The general intent with the timing of the lights along that trunkline is to make sure you get a green light all the way down,? Stramsak said.
‘The idea is to get the traffic flow to be a bit more predictable,? he added.
Steve Dearing, Manager of Traffic Engineering with Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment, which is working on the project in conjunction with the Corradino Group, said having lights bunched together (as they are on northbound M-24 before Clarkston and in downtown Oxford) makes timing them more of a challenge.
‘The more uniform the spacing is between signals, the better the timing is,? Dearing said.
All parties involved said the fast-trac system should help flow in all directions.
‘We’re not intending to tell the east and west travelers to jump off a cliff,? ensured Stramsak. ‘They’ll get their time to move as well.?
Whatever decisions are made on the signaling in the next few weeks and months will be out of local government hands.
‘Communities don’t have much say at all in the timing of lights,? Hartman noted. ‘That’s something the state has taken a larger role in the past few years.?
However, Hartman and Dearing praised Orion Township for encouraging compliance with access management standards in its newly updated master plan.
‘Orion Township is in a pretty good position already, because you’ve incorporated access management into your master plan,? Dearing said, adding that this will help alleviate future hold ups with developers.
‘We’d like to have a standard set for new developments that come in,? Hartman said of the entire corridor.
Stramsak added that this language could prevent an old trick used by developers that say one thing to MDOT and another to the local government.
‘If we work in concert, things go a lot better,? he said.
Hartman noted that a final list of recommendations from the committee should be completed in the next week.
When that list is released, The Review will offer a detailed look at all of the potential projects.