Residents press district and city over traffic and safety at proposed Wixom Elementary on West Maple

City officials and residents Tuesday pressed the Walled Lake Consolidated School District over pedestrian and traffic safety at the site of a proposed new Wixom Elementary School at 3515 West Maple.

City Manager Brown opened the public hearing by saying state law (Public Act 451 of 1976) gives the state superintendent primary jurisdiction over school construction, but the district has shared plans with the city for several months. Brown said city staff remain concerned that the current site plans either omit or do not yet fully document critical elements — notably a sidewalk on the south side of West Maple, detailed fire-department information (hydrant locations and occupancy figures) and traffic circulation elements such as left-turn lanes, acceleration/deceleration lanes and a redesigned intersection flare at Hadingham and West Maple.

The hearing drew more than a dozen residents, many of whom live adjacent to or frequently travel the Maple–Wixom–Lon Lake corridors. “Where do kids walk? If there’s no sidewalk, where are they going to walk?” said Ryan Fiser of Hettingham Boulevard, who asked the council to press the district for a sidewalk and protected crossings. Several speakers recounted existing backups at nearby Lon Lake and Sarah Banks schools and warned the new site could extend queues into neighborhoods and block emergency response. “Parents line up. Buses can’t get through. We need a clear drop-off and pickup circulation plan,” said Tom Resnik, who pointed to outstanding items in the HRC engineering review regarding turn lanes and sidewalks.

Other residents proposed alternatives to reduce traffic demand, including reusing under-enrolled district buildings rather than building a new school and adding off-site roadway connections (a citizen referred to an old Landro Road alignment) to redirect through traffic. Ken Anderson, who said he favors a new elementary, nevertheless urged at least one sidewalk leading to the school’s Wixom Road side and a crossing guard at a marked crosswalk.

Several speakers criticized the district’s outreach and timing, alleging limited notice for events such as a November groundbreaking. Mike Dornan told the council he had posted multiple outstanding review reports (fire, building, engineering) online and said state approval does not mean local concerns were addressed.

Council members thanked residents and noted the district’s superintendent and at least one board member were in the audience to hear concerns. Council members and staff urged residents to attend the Walled Lake school board meeting (April 9, 7 p.m., Education Service Center, 850 Lab Road in Walled Lake) and said the city will continue coordinating with the district, the county roads commission and other agencies to seek funding and technical solutions for sidewalks, signalization and turn-lane work.

The public hearing closed with no formal action by the council; staff said further conversations and submittals from the district would be necessary before the city could identify or fund specific roadside improvements.