Rochester Road improvements go forward after unanimous vote

ROYAL OAK — The Rochester Road construction project to modify the stretch from 13 Mile to 14 Mile roads from four to three lanes has been approved in a unanimous vote by the City Commission.

Construction is slated to begin in 2026, and while all commissioners were in support, a few businesses were against the changes.

According to the proposal document provided in the agenda packet, while designing the project, Royal Oak city staff noticed that multiple properties along the corridor have parking in the right of way without license agreements.

Commercial properties on Rochester Road are currently using parking spaces that are, according to the document, in the right of way. These parking spaces provide more direct access to the front of the commercial properties and are regularly used.

Along the 1-mile stretch of Rochester Road are 12 residential properties with driveways to Rochester Road; five of the 12 properties currently have some type of unapproved parking area in the public right of way, according to the proposal document.

The proposal is recommending to remove the parking spaces and turn them into green space. In a list provided in the agenda packet, staff said that there are several benefits to this project.

Benefits listed include: allowing pedestrians to be more visible; avoids potential pedestrian conflicts with overhanging and backing vehicles; provides consistency for parking with other commercial properties along the corridor; beautifies the corridor; eliminates impervious areas, reduces stormwater runoff in the area; and more found on the agenda at romi.gov.

“As you know when I come to you with license agreements, I am usually against putting anything in our right of way. … But, obviously, there are different viewpoints and reasons for going against that type of recommendation,” City Engineer Holly Donoghue said. “As a city engineer, my lens is looking at traffic safety and looking at sustainability.”

Businesses that will be affected by the construction were against these changes.

Green Lantern Pizza, 4326 Rochester Road, is one of the affected businesses on that stretch.

Owner John Spreitzer has been vocal about his objection to the project, saying that taking away parking in front of the business will dramatically impact takeout and his ability to park customers and employees.

Spreitzer told the Royal Oak Review that he has four parking spots in the front of his business and four in the back. He also shares parking spaces with neighboring businesses for his takeout customers.

“Rochester Road is in desperate need of pavement — we agree on that 100% and we appreciate you guys getting that done. … When it comes to cars and traffic, it’s a very busy establishment. We have been there for right around 20 years,” Spreitzer said at the meeting.

Spreitzer said that his business has around 1,000 people going in and out of Green Lantern parking a night, including carryouts and deliveries.

“That would be completely pushed to (neighboring residential street) Bauman (Avenue), which you can imagine is insane to say the least,” he said.

Aaron Richmond, owner of PKSA Karate, 4304 Rochester Road, voiced his opinions on the matter during public comment.

“John spoke about our parking situation. In the evenings, we do get pretty full. To John’s point, if we lose that front parking, it’s going to push people down both Bauman as well as Whitcomb Avenue,” Richmond said.

Richmond’s business serves people ages 4 to 104, according to Richmond.

“Imagine a mother of three young children walking down from Whitcomb Avenue on a January night to come down and have their son or daughter come and do karate,” he said. “I can’t imagine a mother wanting to take her kids trudging through snow and in the cold away from the lighted parking area to come to a karate school.”

Spreitzer said that he likes the Royal Oak location of Green Lantern and is hoping to keep it there.

“We don’t have any definitive answer to what we are going to do moving forward,” he said. “The next step should be that we reach out, we set up a time to meet with the city manager and come up with plans. All we have gotten in a letter so far is to set up a time to talk with the city manager.”

Spreitzer does not know how much he will have to spend on the parking, but he will know more in the upcoming months.

Prior to the meeting, businesses that would be affected received a letter from the city’s Engineering Division saying that they do have the right to ask for a licensing agreement to use the public land.

“There are a few businesses on Rochester Road that have the right to ask for a licensing agreement to use city land, or if they choose not to, there’s the approach that the city engineer will take, which is we will make it part of a beltway or green space,” Mayor Michael Fournier said.

Fournier said that licensing agreements are normal protocol, but that means that if someone slips and falls in the parking lot or it’s not kept up to standard, then the liability would go onto the business or individual that filed the licensing agreement.

As of May 6, the licensing agreement fee was waived by the city, according to Judy Davids, Royal Oak community engagement specialist, and a letter sent out by the Engineering Division.

A separate letter also dated May 6 outlines a potential cost in place of the licensing agreement fee. Instead of a licensing fee, businesses and property owners will be paying for the concrete used to make parking spots.

“The construction cost, insurance, and future maintenance of the new pull-off parking space will be the responsibility of the property owner. … To give you an idea of the cost, a very rough estimate for a new residential parking pad is approximately $7,500. If you wish to move forward, staff will prepare a more detailed design and estimate specific to your property,” the letter states. “The cost would be added as a special assessment to the property with a 15-year payback period and no penalty for early payoff.”

Donoghue said that the goal of the Engineering Division is to create a way to please everyone.

“I imagine we will have a few iterations before we get the chance to bring it back to you, but our goal is to work with properties to maximize what we can but still follow our own rules for traffic safety and improve sustainability as much as we can,” Donoghue said.

Fournier asked Donoghue if the Engineering Division conducted any studies before making this recommendation.

“Yes, we did a very detailed study where we looked at traffic safety, which was a big component of it and how lane conversion will improve traffic safety. I don’t have the percentage decrease in front of me here, but it does reduce the accidents along the corridor,” she said. “We pulled crash history for everything going on in the corridor.”

The next steps for businesses and property owners on Rochester Road will be to submit an application by May 27 to the city if they want to move forward with an estimate on cost for a new slab of concrete parking. The application can be given to the Engineering Division by mail, by dropping it off at City Hall, or via an email copy to the Engineering Division at engineering@romi.gov.

From there engineering staff will prepare exhibits, cost estimates and licensing agreements for a viable parking configuration.

For more information on the city of Royal Oak, visit romi.gov.