Mike Onaga, owner of Eastpointe Dairy Queen, said the Nine Mile Road Diet will hurt his business. (Photo by Susan Smiley)
More than 60 people gathered at Deronne True Value Hardware in East Point Tuesday morning to protest the Nine Mile Road lane reduction plan approved by the City Council on Feb. 6.
The proposed “road diet” plan would change Nine Mile between Kelly Road and Pleasant Avenue from five lanes to three. Supporters of the plan argue it will improve walkability and attract small businesses to the area.
But many business owners and residents living near the proposed project say it would hurt rather than help existing businesses.
“We can't make it any more difficult for customers to access a business and find it useful for their business,” said David Deron, owner of Deron Hardware. “It's going to drive people to Amazon, which is already our biggest competitor.”
Delonne, who has run his family's business, founded in 1940, for more than 30 years, said he believes curbside diets will encourage customers to shop in locations with easier access and more parking. Ta. The hardware store is located between Almond Avenue and Cortland Avenue, just east of Kelly Road.
“I've already seen people on social media saying they would avoid Nine Mile Road like the plague if it became three lanes,” Deronne said. “We are asking the City Council to reconsider its vote.”
In recent weeks, Delonne has posted messages about the street diet problem on a billboard outside her home. Now, the message is urging city council members to reconsider their vote.
Many protesters chanted “No Road Diet” and held signs expressing their views on the plan during a rally inside the store on Tuesday.
Mike Onaga, owner of Dairy Queen Grill & Chill on the corner of Nine Mile Road and Roush Avenue, said road construction has affected his business and the road diet has also reduced his customer base. He said he believed it.
“Every time there is road construction in Nine Mile, business goes down. Once the construction is complete, business picks up,” Onaga said. “So I've already seen how fewer lanes at Nine Mile reduces the number of customers coming to Dairy Queen.”
Road diet supporters, including Mayor Michael Kleinfeldt and City Council members Cardi DeMonaco Jr. and Margaret Podsiadlik, who voted in favor of the plan on Feb. 6, said such a plan would not be effective in Ferndale or Royal Oak. They say it has been successful in other areas, including the U.S., and ultimately improves pedestrian safety. And the drivers.
“The wishes of the residents were not taken into account,” resident Mary Hall Rayford said. She said, “Voting yes even though the majority of residents are against it means that you are not considering the will of the residents.''
Debbie Griffin has worked at DeRonne Hardware for 14 years and lives on Normandy Avenue just off Nine Mile Road. She said that as both a business person and a resident, diet plans on the street make no sense.
“We're going to lose six parking spaces, and the police and fire chiefs are against that,” Griffin said. “Existing stores here like Plaza Mexico and East Detroit Bakery will also lose parking, and these are stores that most people access by car.
“It seems like the people who are in favor of the road diet are trying to bring certain types of businesses here, more artistic businesses, and they're pushing us to do that.”
City Council approved the full 2021 Nine Mile Road project plan, which does not include a “road diet.” The first phase of the project reconstructed the area west of Gratiot Street and was completed last year. His five-lane plan for the second phase of the Modern 9 project between Gratiot Avenue and Kelly Road was previously approved by the Michigan Department of Transportation. At its Dec. 5 meeting, the City Council voted to reject the six bids MDOT had collected for the second phase of the project. The minimum amount exceeded the project's original estimated cost by $220,327.
Initially, the estimated cost for the entire project was $4.3 million, which rose to $5.6 million.
Ryan Kahn, senior project engineer at East Point engineering firm Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick, said the reason for the increase was a sharp rise in concrete prices.
During that meeting, Kleinfeldt asked Kahn to present an alternative plan for the second phase of the project, which would reduce traffic lanes from five to three lanes.
Khan presented two plans on Feb. 6, both of which would create separate bus lanes that would allow SMART buses to exit their lanes and enter designated areas to drop off and pick up passengers, along both sides of Nine Mile. It would add 12 feet of green space to the area. road.
To maintain 81.85% of federal funding for the project's second phase, the project must begin by September 2024. The new plan must be approved by MDOT, and once approved, it will be put back out to bid.
“That's another concern to make sure we don't lose federal funding for this project,” Deron said. “A five-lane plan has already been approved and could be moved forward more quickly.”
