WARREN, Mich. – Residents in Warren have been complaining that the excessive speeds on Van Dyke between 11 and 12 Mile is a real problem. It turns out, the Warren Police Department agrees.
Tijuana Lewis, a Warren resident, said Van Dyke near I-696 is more of a dragstrip.
“They’re speeding all the time because they’re trying to gun around and cut in. It’s always a lot of accidents in this area,” she said.
And, she’s not wrong.
Warren motor officer Rob Hamilla said he could stand there all day long writing ticket after ticket.
What’s the issue?
On Van Dyke north of 12 Mile, the speed limit goes up to 45 miles per hour. But south of 12 Mile, it’s 35 miles per hour all the way to Detroit.
“You have to be aware of where you’re at and what the speed limit is, but a lot of this is based off of the size of the road, how close the buildings are,” said Hamilla. “We do have some residential in this area with the apartments. So there is a lower speed limit here; this isn’t 50 miles per hour.”
But the bigger issue is that lots of people are trying to cross the street.
11 Mile at Van Dyke is actually the most dangerous intersection for pedestrians.
“The faster you’re going, the longer it takes to stop,” said Warren police Lt. John Gajewski. “So while it may seem only 10 miles an hour, when there’s pedestrians, it’s congested or there’s merging, there’s a middle turn lane, that increase can make a significant impact in your ability to safely maneuver your vehicle.”
“It’s never been easier to know the speed limit than it has been now,” said Gajewski. “Google traffic and Waze, the speed limits are very transparent now.”
“People just care where they have to be,” said Lewis. “They don’t care that you need to watch out for everybody else, and everybody has somewhere they have to be.”