Macomb Township Supervisor Frank Viviano and Clerk Kristi Pozzi listen to a speaker during the Jan. 22 Macomb Township Board of Trustees meeting.

Macomb Township Supervisor Frank Viviano and Clerk Kristi Pozzi listen to a speaker during the Jan. 22 Macomb Township Board of Trustees meeting.

Photo by Patricia O’Blenes


Transportation conversation

Township board discusses roadwork projects

By: Dean Vaglia | Macomb Chronicle | Published February 3, 2025

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MACOMB TOWNSHIP — Transportation was the talk of the township on Jan. 22, as the Macomb Township Board of Trustees tackled several road-related subjects.

The first of the road matters was an authorization for professional services to begin surveying and performing right of way services for the extension of Broughton Road between 25 Mile and 23 1/2 Mile roads. Professional services firm OHM Advisors was authorized to perform $64,000 in work.

“There is an additional phase to the project for design, and we’ll be coming back to you — probably at the next meeting but it might be the last meeting of February — with the remainder of the design, but we wanted to get our consultant started so we can get this moving,” Assistant Township Engineer Crystal Kozak said.

The Broughton Road extension is part of the township’s town center plan and is being funded in part by a $5 million state grant awarded in 2023. The extended Broughton Road is planned to be a departure from the rest of the township’s north-south road projects, focusing on a boulevard-style design similar to Auburn Road in the “Brooklands” neighborhood of eastern Rochester Hills.

“We have been in discussions with the Macomb County road department about the design of this for about eight months,” Township Supervisor Frank Viviano said. “We are nearing an agreement with the road department on what this stretch of road is going to look like and in order to proceed, these are the next steps.”

Viviano said he expected that acquiring the right of way would occur in the next few months.

On the subject of the town center, trustees awarded a $17,124 contract to professional services firm Carlisle Wortman Associates to develop the town center overlay district. In addition to the zoning code for the town center, the overlay district will control the development style and pattern intended for the district.

 

Radar signs
Trustees approved a policy to install radar speed-monitoring signs along streets in the township. The signs serve as traffic-calming devices by flashing messages like “YOUR SPEED (in miles per hour)” or “SLOW DOWN.” Viviano said the signs will also collect data, access to which will be given to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office.

“These units that we intend to purchase also have data collection, and we intend to collect the data and have it available to the Macomb County sheriffs who patrol our streets,” Viviano said. “They’ll use that data over time to know when and where to deploy the patrols that service our area.”

Data collected includes the speed and number of passing vehicles. Viviano said the signs will not be used for taking photos to issue speeding tickets.

“They’re going to take an average number of vehicles and how fast they’re going,” Viviano said. “Presumably, if they determine that, let’s say, at 10 o’clock they see a spike in people speeding, they’ll send a car over that way to sit on the street for that period of time and try and encourage our residents to adhere to the speed limit.”

At least six signs to be placed along three township streets are expected to be purchased and installed within the year. The initial six signs will serve as a pilot, testing the effectiveness of the signs before deciding whether to expand the program.

 

Hayes Road response
Trustees unanimously supported a resolution from Viviano objecting to changing to the speed limit on Hayes Road from 45 mph to an “unposted” speed limit of 55 mph following the widening of the road. Speed studies are a regular part of road expansion projects and are conducted by the Michigan State Police.

“The Macomb Township Board of Trustees is concerned that increasing the speed limit will jeopardize the health, safety and welfare of our residents,” Viviano said. “At a time when municipalities across the region are investing in ways to encourage pedestrian activity and alternative means of transportations, it seems counterproductive to be raising speed limits that have been in place for years. Additionally, removing speed limit signs and leaving the road as ‘unposted’ will only serve to confuse many drivers who regularly travel Hayes Road.”

Viviano called the methodology used in the speed study “flawed and outdated” and said that the letter sent to the township notifying it of the change did not include data or studies used to determine the change.

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