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MACOMB COUNTY — Officials from four Macomb County communities are seeking public input on a proposed greenway project along Stephens Road that aims to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, increase connectivity and create a more walkable corridor.
The proposed project stretches along Stephens Road from Van Dyke Avenue to Little Mack Avenue through Warren, Center Line, Eastpointe and St. Clair Shores. Officials have said that the goal is to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, connect existing trails and create a greener, more walkable corridor.
At this point, the project is still in the planning stages, according to officials, and there is currently no dedicated construction funding. However, Center Line City Manager Dennis Champine said the communities are hoping to receive federal funding and grants that will keep the cities from having to directly fund the improvements.
The project started as a discussion between the four cities. Later, they received a $40,000 grant to assist with planning from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
Eastpointe, St. Clair Shores see strong support for project
St. Clair Shores City Planner Liz Koto led the discussion in St. Clair Shores on May 6.
All four communities received a grant from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments to pay for the planning. Koto went over the results of a survey they took earlier this year. She also stated stakeholders, which include elected officials, business owners and residents, already held two meetings. At these meetings, they took notes about the issues and ideas stakeholders have about the corridor.
Koto said they received 602 surveys. Some of the findings were that 81% of people hadn’t heard of the project, 60% drive Stephens weekly and 15% bike or walk the corridor weekly.
“And overall we have a support of about two-thirds of the respondents,” Koto said.
Around 14% remained neutral, and around 20% were opposed to the project.
Walking, biking, crossings, lighting and comfort were rated fair to poor.
“Some of the top issues people cited were the speed of vehicles, poor lighting, sidewalks not in good condition and difficult crossing at intersections,” Koto said.
Those surveyed would like to see bigger sidewalks, safer walking routes, better crossings, better streetscaping and lighting, protected bike facilities and more. They also showed support for environmental features like rain gardens and bioswales to help with stormwater runoff.
“The takeaways from the survey is we should probably focus first on street crossings, lowering speeds of cars and lighting and then provide wider sidewalks and protected bike spaces, add trees and more green infrastructure and places to rest and finally plan for maintenance costs and operations in the long run,” Koto said.
Meeting attendees were able to observe a map placed on tables and give their opinions and ask questions about the plans so far.
They had concerns about the maintenance of the proposed wider sidewalks throughout the year and who it would fall to. One resident mentioned that some residents just don’t care about the sidewalks as it stands now.
They also showed concern about the busier roads when it came to bikers and pedestrians, how the communities intended to pay for the proposed corridor, current visibility on the streets due to houses or greenery, current parking issues and more.
Koto said the grant was for the planning part and they currently “don’t have two pennies to rub together” to enact the plan. If all the city councils agree to the plan, the likelihood of the trail coming to fruition would be dependent on grants.
“At least I can say that for St. Clair Shores,” Koto said.
She assumed it would be the same in the other communities.
One resident suggested to ask for feedback from the people who live on Stephens because they are the ones who will be impacted the most.
At the end of the meeting, attendees placed sticker dots under pictures of other amenities in Michigan that they liked and what they would like to see.
Warren, Center Line face dangerous intersections
In Warren and Center Line, officials say safety, connectivity and economic development are among the top priorities for the proposed project, which would create a multimodal corridor connecting communities across the southern end of the county.
At a May 11 community engagement event, Hunter Manikas, economic development technician for Warren, said the corridor has “gone a little bit neglected for a little too long” and that the cities are trying to return Van Dyke Avenue and Stephens Road to a more pedestrian-oriented environment.
“Old Van Dyke was originally designed with a more classic, walkable streetscape,” he said. “Changes are needed to revitalize the area, make it better connected, pedestrian-friendly and, very importantly, safe.”
Champine said the project is intended to create a new east-west connector in southern Macomb County and link communities to the regional Iron Belle Trail.
“The goal is to create a new corridor for multimodal transportation — by foot, bicycle, car — and to create an environment that is green-friendly throughout the entire corridor,” he said.
According to survey data presented during the meeting, officials received 642 survey responses, with Warren accounting for 29% and Center Line for 5%. More than half of respondents said they strongly supported the project.
Survey respondents identified speeding vehicles, lack of sidewalks and bike facilities, difficult intersections and poor lighting as major concerns along the corridor.
“There’s a great number of people that were concerned with vehicle speeds. That’s not surprising to me,” Manikas said. “A lot of people kind of peel off Van Dyke and go pretty fast down that stretch there.”
According to Manikas, the survey results also showed that residents have a strong preference for separated walking and biking paths rather than painted bike lanes. They also supported additional landscaping, trees, lighting and benches.
One of the largest concerns discussed during the meeting was the intersection of Stephens and Schoenherr roads, where Groesbeck Highway also crosses, which Manikas and Champine both said was repeatedly described as difficult and unsafe for pedestrians and bicyclists.
“This is going to be the greatest challenge for the project as a whole,” Manikas said.
Champine added that current pedestrian routes through the area require crossing multiple heavily trafficked roads.
“You’re crossing over a five-lane highway and a seven-lane highway just to get to the other side,” he said. “That’s a lot of safety issues there.”
Manikas and Champine also discussed potential improvements near Van Dyke Avenue in Warren and Center Line, including wider sidewalks, landscaping, public art, benches and bike repair stations.
Additionally, Manikas said Warren is looking to acquire a vacant lot on the southeast corner of Van Dyke and Stephens that could serve as a trailhead and gathering point.
“Right now it’s an unused lot, and it would be a great place to put some benches, maybe bike facilities, where they have those air pumps, tool kits, that kind of stuff, so you can fix up your bike on the fly,” Manikas said.
Champine said the project could also help support development efforts in the Van Dyke corridor and downtown Center Line.
“Another key component is that (the project) has to support the businesses that exist there already,” Champine said. “This shouldn’t be something that’s angled at businesses that don’t exist.”
