Some changes will be coming to the M-24 corridor as a result of the ongoing Access Management study involving the Michigan Department of Transportation, government officials and others.
Now the question becomes what changes will come first?
The steering committee met on Oct. 31 to discuss the results of their Sept. public hearing and chart a course for the remainder of their study.
The meeting was headed by Jim Hartman, Project Manager for the Corradino Group, and Steve Stramsak, Traffic and Safety Engineer for the Michigan Department of Transportation.
There is money in place already to implement some of the committee’s recommendations.
Hartman said the project will be broken up into short, medium and long-term strategies, meaning the committee has the task of deciding what projects are feasible, and in what order they should proceed.
An implementation group will continue to meet quarterly to ensure progress along the corridor.
The committee spent an hour discussing feedback from residents and business owners at the public hearing.
‘Not everything shown in the exhibits is concrete,? Hartman said. ‘We don’t have all the answers, but we have a good sense of where this thing is headed.?
Most of the discussion was centered around the Orion part of the corridor, with Hartman and Stramsak agreeing that there are still some misconceptions about what the project entails.
‘We’re not going to close anybody’s access to M-24,? Stramsak said.
Other items that fall outside the scope of the study include a mass transit recommendation and the idea of a monorail along the corridor.
The first phase of the project will likely involve mostly simple changes and could include the implementation a light-timing system, among other things.
‘Within the next month, we’d like to get you a copy of the final project,? Hartman said. ‘It will have recommendations from the public hearing and these comments today,.?
Both Orion Township Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk and Village of Lake Orion Manager JoAnn Van Tassel have been encouraged by the ongoing dialogue.
The steering committee will meet again on Nov. 28 to look over the final draft before a final public hearing is held.
Profiled below are some of the key intersections the committee is keeping a close eye on, and what changes could ultimately result in Orion Township’s part of the corridor:

Elizabeth/Indianwood
The two roads were linked when the removal of a direct left from eastbound Indianwood onto northbound M-24 forced drivers to hit a turnaround at Elizabeth in order to go north on M-24.
The direct left has since been put back, but there are other issues that now face this stretch of the corridor.
At the public hearing in Sept., a resident suggested a pedestrian crosswalk at Elizabeth, but Van Tassel said not enough people cross there to make it feasible.

Flint
Problems accessing the National City Bank on Flint Street and closing the M-24 access for the Orion Marine Center have been talked about consistently by the steering committee.
‘The driveway to Orion Marine is chained off most of the time anyway,? Van Tassel said. ‘So that won’t make much of a difference.?
The committee is examining a suggestion to make the bank’s Shadbolt exit a two-way access point in hopes off alleviating traffic congestion on Flint.
Van Tassel is also pushing for an additional signal (with a turn arrow) on the southeast corner for traffic accessing Flint from southbound M-24.
The possibility of an underpass in this area intrigues Van Tassel, who said it has been done successfully in Utica and could drastically improve pedestrian safety.
The most likely option in this scenario would link Front Street to Green’s Park.

Atwater
There have been ongoing discussions by both the committee and the public about the effectiveness of the traffic light at this intersection.
Both Van Tassel and Village Police Chief Jerry Narsh have urged officials to put a turn arrow in and address access to the businesses on the southwest corner of the intersection.

Odanah/Heights
Van Tassel said at one of the first steering committee meetings that Odanah must become a two-way road for this area of the corridor to be improved.
It appears that the committee is now thinking along those same lines, though Hartman said more discussions with Jacobsen’s Flowers are needed first.
The scenario most talked about by the committee at this point involved adding a lane to Odanah, which would allow northbound M-24 traffic to turn at a light instead of turning at Heights Road.
‘If we get everybody turning at the light, it will be a much safer intersection,? Van Tassel said.

Clarkston
The committee has discussed multiple options at this intersection to address the shallow crossover (or Michigan left) that currently exists for northbound M-24 traffic looking to go west on Clarkston.
One option involves simply moving the crossover further north, so that there is more room to make a turn in front of Buckhorn Lake.
‘There’s not a lot of room there with the Lake even if it’s moved north,? Dywasuk said.
The second option would include a northbound to westbound loop on the northeast corner of the intersection, off of Parkview, in front of Christi’s Bar and Grill.
Some residents expressed some concerns about this option, wondering about potential costs and if there is enough traffic on Clarkston to warrant such a drastic idea.
This second concept would allow for the elimination of a northbound left turn lane, currently in place for authorized vehicles.
No matter the outcome, it appears something will be done.
‘We’ve got to change that crossover,? Hartman said. ‘It’s brutal.?
The committee is also looking at concerns from businesses on the east side of M-24, which has traffic on eastbound Clarkston cutting through their lots to go north on M-24.

Scripps/Stadium
The Lake Orion School district is working closely with the committee in this area, hoping to improve the heavy morning and afternoon problems on Stadium and Scripps.
The district hopes to improved the traffic signal at Scripps to help with flow, particularly for westbound Scripps traffic headed to southbound M-24.
Their ‘last resort? involves removing the direct left in favor of crossovers.
Van Tassel said this would create a problem comparable to the removal of a direct left off of Indianwood – which was re-established a few years later.
‘Why create a problem that, in five years, you’ll have to change back?? she asked.
The possibility of having a signal flash schedule on the Stadium light also exists, at least until the planned Pulte Homes development is completed.
‘The reason the signal got in at Stadium and Lapeer was because that development was coming,? Stramsak said.
‘Once they put the light in, there was a major improvement,? Dywasuk added.

Silverbell
The Silverbell intersection has been a hot debate topic since the steering committee first met.
Dywasuk said this intersection is where a fast-trac system could have a major influence.
‘I’ve seen it work perfectly in other communities,? he said of the traffic signal system in which lights are timed to optimize traffic flow.
Dywasuk added that finished road construction projects on Squirrel and Dutton could also help congestion in the Silverbell area.
‘We don’t have a grid system here,? Van Tassel said. ‘That’s why they have to optimize signalization and not make the situation worse by turning right to turn left.?