Dear Editor,

I feel compelled to respond to a letter published a few weeks back in regard to safety paths. There were a number of accusations and innuendos which need to be addressed.
First, the writer has submitted requests for a Cranberry Lake Road pathway through her residential neighborhood which was forwarded to the Safety Path Committee upon receipt for review and evaluation. Potential safety path projects are identified, evaluated for community impact, prioritized, then brought to the Township Board by the Safety Path Committee with a request to approve funding. Limited funding precludes the Township from completing all requests. The COVID lockdowns have not helped at all over the past six months in getting work done.
The writer also suggested she pays almost “$500 a year for safety paths.” The Independence Township Assessor has valued my condo in Oakhurst around $475,000 and I pay $76 per year for the Safety Path Millage of 0.4275 mills. To pay $500 a year for the Safety Path, a residence would have a True Cash Value of over $2,300,000. I’m not saying there aren’t a few $2 million dollar homes in the Township, but none on or around Cranberry Lake.
It was insinuated that favoritism towards Oakhurst is how safety path projects have been prioritized. Thought a few facts might clarify this false statement. Over the past eight years, the township has completed the pathway along Sashabaw filling a void and linking south and north entrances to Independence Oaks County Park; the pathway along Sashabaw linking the future hotel at the I-75 ramp to the DTE Energy Music Theatre and soon to Clarkston Road; the pathway on Maybee Road from Eagle Ridge subdivision filling a void linking Independence and Orion Township; the pathway from the north end of the Village to Brioni’s filling a void that has been there near forever.
Currently, we are installing a pathway along Pine Knob Lane at Maybee Road allowing kids to walk to the elementary and middle school on a sidewalk vs. the roadway, and replacing 800 feet of pathway along Maybee Road by Mt. Zion church that was a trip hazard due to tree roots.
We have also repaired thousands of feet of pathway over the past few years throughout the Township.
To clarify the writer’s statements about all pathway’s lead to Oakhurst … there is one new stretch that does touch Oakhurst at Waldon Road. This stretch of boardwalk / pathway along Clintonville between Maybee and Waldon roads has been in the Safety Path plan long before I took office and traverses a half mile of swamp that now provides for a continuous walkway from Mann Road on our southern border all the way to Clarkston Road.
The writer’s accusation the Township is diverting funds from school projects to pay for the Clarkston Road pathway has no basis in fact. The Township is working with Clarkston Community Schools to secure $2M in “Safe Routes to Schools” federal grants to improve walkability to schools.
We haven’t received one penny of this grant request, although our chances are looking pretty good. These funds cannot be diverted without the risk of losing the entire grant. Nor have we pulled any Township Safety Path funding for projects near any Clarkston schools as claimed.
The Clarkston Road pathway project currently under construction will link Independence at Clintonville Road to Orion Township and will provide safe passageway to pedestrians on a road that sees more high-speed traffic in a single week than Cranberry Lake road will likely see in a year. This is not to say that any street is not important, but the Safety Path Committee and Township must spend its limited dollars using a process of determining priorities.
For all you conspiracy theorists out there, I have to apologize … the writer’s claim a conflict exists is pure fiction. I’m not saying the writer is wrong or should not express her concerns about pedestrian safety in her neighborhood. What I am saying is there are more pathway projects needed in the community than we can pay for. I really do wish there was enough money and time to take care of all of them, but there isn’t. In the meantime, the Safety Path Committee will continue to objectively evaluate pathway requests and make recommendations based on the biggest community impact and available funding.
If anyone feels this is the wrong approach, please submit your application to join the Safety Path Team. Look forward to seeing you join our team of volunteers working diligently to improve walkability in the Township.

Sincerely,
Patrick J. Kittle
Independence Township Supervisor