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Plum Brook safety project wins APWA Detroit Metro award after road reallocation and bike-lane pilot
Summary
City engineers described safety-focused changes on Plum Brook Road — including bike lanes, midblock crossings and signal improvements — and accepted a regional APWA award for the multimodal project; staff reported slower recorded speeds and fewer excessive speeders after construction.
Sterling Heights officials accepted an American Public Works Association (APWA) Detroit Metro award Monday for the Plum Brook resurfacing and safety project, a pilot that reallocated road space to add bike lanes and pedestrian improvements.
Brent Bayshaw, the city engineer, told council the project began as a pavement program and evolved into a multimodal safety effort that included bike lanes, improved midblock crossings, signal work at 17 Mile Road and Plum Brook, and adjustments to the Davis Junior High entrance. "We reallocated the space of the road to include a space for cyclists, a space for pedestrians, to give everyone within the roadway space and which makes the roadway safer," Bayshaw said.
Bayshaw said pre- and post-construction speed data showed recorded speeds on Plum Brook decreased by over 2 miles per hour and that the number of excessive speeders fell "six fold" from the start to the end of the project. The city also added buffer zones, delineators and green pavement markings at awareness areas as part of the pilot.
Nancy Kalinski, secretary of the APWA Detroit Metro branch committee, presented the award and praised the project for turning a standard resurfacing job into an "innovative, multimodal project" that prioritized resident safety. "The city's decision to add the multimodal improvements pushed this project right to the top of the category," Kalinski said.
Bayshaw acknowledged the engineers and field staff who managed the work and said the project's safety-focused outcomes informed how the city will evaluate future bicycle and pedestrian improvements. The council did not take formal action; the presentation and award acceptance were informational and celebratory.
