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Residents urge Eastpointe City to reconsider 9 Mile road diet, citing safety and flawed traffic data
Summary
Residents told the council the 9 Mile traffic study relied on counts taken during winter construction and warned that lane reductions would increase queue lengths and slow emergency responders; the council said it will follow up with engineering.
Several residents used public comment at the Dec. 17 meeting to press the Eastpointe City Council to rethink a proposed road diet on 9 Mile Road.
Carol Reed, a lifelong Eastpointe resident, said three council members are “pushing this agenda” and described the proposal as infringing on motorists’ rights. “It’s gonna cause a lot of congestion … They’re gonna be endangering the children by getting off 9 Mile and going down the side streets,” Reed said.
Jennifer Nicholas questioned the timing and context of traffic counts used in the study, saying data were collected Feb. 13–14, 2024 during winter and construction and citing an average daily traffic figure of 21,391. Nicholas also tallied emergency-response activity that she said depends on 9 Mile Road — 3,083 fire responses (about nine per day), 3,335 MedStar ambulance calls (about 10 per day), and more than 25,000 police calls this year — and argued that increased queue lengths (she cited queue up to 200–400 feet in places) could delay emergency vehicles by minutes.
City Manager Walton told the council administration will meet with engineering to review the traffic-study concerns and follow up on the questions raised.
No vote or ordinance change on the road diet occurred at this meeting; council members discussed obtaining further information and engaging the commission and residents on next steps.
