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City accepts road safety audit for Maple Road and Eaton Street, asks multimodal board to review recommendations
Summary
A Michigan DOT grant-funded road safety audit identified pedestrian, bicycle and truck clearance risks at the Maple Road/Eaton Street railroad-bridge intersection; the commission approved the audit and asked the multimodal board to study near-term remedial signage and signal changes.
The Birmingham City Commission on Jan. 13 unanimously approved a road safety audit of the Maple Road and Eaton Street intersection and directed staff to transmit the audit to the multimodal transportation board for further study and near-term action on several recommendations.
Melissa Coda, engineering project manager, said the audit was funded by a SIMCOG grant and conducted by an independent, multidisciplinary audit team. The team performed daytime and nighttime field reviews in August 2024, examined crash frequency and severity, and produced an eight-step audit report with recommended short- and long-term countermeasures. Coda said the site is “an interesting” and challenging location because the city does not own the railroad bridge or tracks, which limits the city’s options for structural changes under the bridge.
Key findings included: frequent eastbound rear-end crashes in winter/wet conditions tied to the downhill approach from Adams; faded pavement markings and pushbuttons needing relocation or repair; motorists disobeying signage (including prohibited movements); insufficient advance truck-height warning for westbound drivers approaching a 13-foot‑2-inch clearance; poor lighting beneath the railroad bridge; and a lack of continuous, dedicated bicycle facilities through the intersection.
The audit offered a menu of countermeasures, several of which staff recommended for near-term work or inclusion in ongoing projects: refreshed pavement markings and crosswalks (to be included in the planned Maple Road project), replacement of damaged ADA truncated domes, new or relocated signage (including advance low‑clearance warnings), consideration of high‑friction surfacing on downhill approaches to reduce winter rear‑end crashes, and possible changes to signal timing such as leading pedestrian intervals. The audit also suggested conceptual bicycle treatments; commissioners voiced concern about placing a bicycle lane through the narrow bridge span and instead favored protected bicycle/pedestrian routing.
Commissioners asked the multimodal board to prioritize two near-term items: a “no turn on red” sign on a southbound approach where a red arrow is currently in place and improved advanced signage for the bridge vertical clearance. Commissioner Katie Schaefer and others also emphasized the likely need for a coordinated approach during planned Maple Road rehabilitation and the South Eaton project (planned for 2026). Commissioner Hague urged more aggressive measures where feasible, including lane reconfiguration to calm traffic.
The commission voted to accept the audit and asked staff to forward the report to the multimodal transportation board for further study and early implementation where feasible.
