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Mount Clemens unveils downtown safety action plan, seeks adoption to pursue federal SS4A funding
Summary
Consultants presented a federally funded downtown safety action plan highlighting 2,340 citywide crashes from 2020–2024 and 313 downtown crashes (two fatalities), recommending pedestrian islands, RRFBs, road diets and bike lanes; adoption by the commission is required to pursue FHWA implementation funding by Oct. 30.
Ashley, the consultant presenting the downtown safety action plan, told the commission the city received a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant to prepare the document and must adopt the plan and submit a final package to the Federal Highway Administration to pursue implementation funding.
Ashley summarized the data: "In total, there was 2,340 crashes within the past 5 years" (1/1/2020–12/31/2024) and noted that a large share involved pedestrians or bicyclists. She said the downtown district recorded 313 crashes in that period, with about 236 property‑damage‑only crashes (roughly 75%) and two fatal accidents.
The action plan recommends a suite of engineering and traffic‑calming measures aimed at reducing serious injuries and fatalities: pedestrian refuge islands, rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs), planter boxes for visual traffic calming, on‑street bike lanes, converting angled parking on North Main to parallel parking, adding back plates to signals to improve nighttime visibility, signal geometry improvements and road diets (reducing four lanes to three with a center left‑turn lane to accommodate bike lanes).
Project corridors called out in the plan include North Main (Cass to Market) — proposed to include parallel parking, bike lanes and a refuge island with RRFBs — Cass Avenue (signal geometry and a new signal at a key intersection) and South Main (striping‑based road diet to preserve bus stops and add bike lanes). Ashley said some roadway rehab funding already exists through the regional TIP program, but other elements will require additional grants.
Why it matters: adoption of the plan is a prerequisite to apply for SS4A implementation and other federal grants. Ashley said adoption would include a resolution committing the city to a "Vision 0 by 2035" goal (aiming for zero serious injuries and fatalities in the downtown district by 2035). Staff emphasized that adopting the plan is a commitment to a goal, not an immediate commitment to expenditure — actual construction depends on securing grant money and local match obligations.
Funding avenues identified in the presentation include the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), SS4A implementation grants, CMAC for signals/intersections and the Highway Safety Improvement Program. Ashley said application windows vary (SS4A implementation opens in spring with June deadlines for some competitions) and match requirements differ by program; some grants require no local match while others do.
Commissioners asked about match levels and whether the commission would be obligated to complete projects absent grants; Ashley and staff said adoption by resolution does not itself obligate the city to spend local funds and that projects can be scaled to available funding.
Next steps: staff said the resolution to adopt the action plan is on the regular meeting agenda and that a final package would need to be submitted to FHWA by Oct. 30 for the next implementation funding cycle.
