WARREN, Mich. – Residents of a Warren neighborhood are worried about the plan to remove the traffic light on their road as part of the massive Mound Road rebuild project.
The project is nearly $100 million -- the largest federal grant for a non-federal road. With any plan so large, there are going to be speed bumps along the way.
“You take our street light out and we will never get in or out of our subdivision,” Warren resident Cynthia Allen said.
Allen has lived in Warren’s St. Anne subdivision at Mound Road and Arden Avenue for 50 years.
Part of the plan for the Mound Road makeover is to remove the traffic light at Arden Avenue and eliminate the cut-through. But neighbors are concerned because that’s the only way in and out of the subdivision.
“You have two cars per family,” Allen said. “If you have kids, constantly coming and going across right now -- it is still a nightmare.”
Starting next year, Mound Road will get a $217 million rebuild from 11 Mile Road to M-59.
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Lanes will be added, starting at 17 Mile Road. New lighting is going above, and new sewers below. A smart traffic flow computer system is being implemented.
County road officials said removing the light at Arden Avenue improves traffic flow. Residents said removing the light would affect 200 families.
“We wouldn’t be able to leave,” resident Patty Bill said. “We would be stuck here.”
County road officials said they are hearing the concerns and holding a special meeting this week over Zoom to discuss the St. Anne subdivision.
“If traffic backed up, how are emergency vehicles going to get in?” resident Melissa Gordon asked. “How are we going to get out?”
“During the pandemic, if you weren’t going 70, you were getting pushed off the road,” resident Craig Bill said.
Neighbors want other friends and family members to know about the special meeting. It’s scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday.