Oxford Village Planning Commissioners last week were not pleased with what they saw as the Downtown Development Authority presented yet another set of plans for the proposed reconfiguration and expansion of downtown’s southeast parking quadrant.
‘It may be economical, but I think from a safety standpoint, it has a lot of flaws,? said Planning Commission Chair Tom Schultz.
This latest concept plan calls for increasing the number of parking spaces from 138 to 160 (which includes seven new spaces along E. Burdick St.) and paving the entire lot, both west and east of S. Mill St.
‘If we want to maximize the parking, this is the design that does that,? said Doug Skylis, of Rowe Inc., the engineering firm hired to create this latest plan.
Plans to improve the southeast lot have been ‘going around for six years, maybe seven,? according to Skylis, who noted his firm was hired by the DDA to create the current design to be built ‘within a budget? of approximately $800,000.
Over the years, the DDA’s ‘spent $100,000 already? just to create various plans for the southeast lot, according to DDA board member Dave Weckle.
The most recent plans show the lot reconfigured so the rows of parking spaces and aisles between them run north-south as opposed to east-west as they do now.
Mill Street’s southern and northern portions remain lined up at E. Burdick St. as they are now, but plans call for the southern half to curve to the east so it can line up with the newer portion of Mill St. (between Stanton and Broadway streets) constructed behind the Oxford Bank Finance Center in 2006.
The idea is to ‘funnel? traffic down Mill St. to Broadway St. then onto M-24 so as to ‘hopefully? create enough increased traffic volume to necessitate the Michigan Department of Transportation installing a traffic signal there ‘someday,? Skylis explained.
Plans also call for Stanton St. to become a one-way street heading east between S. Washington St. (M-24) and S. Mill St.
A ‘paint-striped drop-off area? along Stanton St. would be created near the Oxford 7 Theater’s entrance, according to Skylis.
The portion of Stanton St. east of S. Mill St. would remain open to two-way traffic all the way to Broadway St.
Planning commissioners were not pleased with the fact that S. Mill St. would still bisect the parking lot into western and eastern portions instead of being completely moved to the eastern edge of the property as was previously planned.
‘To me, a street going through the middle of a parking lot is just not safety-minded,? said Commissioner Sue Bossardet, who also serves on the DDA. ‘I voted against this plan every single time because I will not vote for something that’s gonna create safety issues.?
Forcing pedestrians walking through the parking lot to cross S. Mill St. is ‘going to be a disaster waiting to happen,? Schutlz said.
‘We’re going to be putting more people onto that road and then we’re asking people to cross that road,? said Commissioner Jeff Ziegelbaur. ‘To me it just really fights the safety aspect of what I’m looking for.?
Skylis explained the reason why S. Mill St. wasn’t moved entirely to the east was because the police and fire departments requested the two portions of Mill St. remain lined up at E. Burdick St. ‘They did not want to see it offset to the east,? he said.
Commissioners said they would like the police and fire chiefs to come to a meeting and explain why.
‘We’ve got plenty of streets in the village that don’t line up from one side to another,? Ziegelbaur noted.
Ziegelbaur also expressed concerns over the proposed north-south configuration of the parking rows and aisles as opposed to the east-west design that exists now.
He argued the north-south design forces pedestrians to constantly walk through parked vehicles and cross aisles to get from the lot to the businesses and vice versa.
This has the potential to cause damage to the vehicles and poses ‘safety hazards? to the pedestrians as cars back out or drive up and down the aisles, Ziegelbaur explained.
Despite the planning commission’s criticisms and concerns, Weckle said this latest plan is the ‘most economical? and ‘best way? to improve the southeast lot right now.
‘It’s a huge improvement,? he said.
Weckle noted the DDA is ‘ready to go? with the funding and resources to do this project.
The eventual sale or lease of the three properties the DDA owns along E. Burdick St. could be used to finance the southeast lot’s redevelopment.
Southeast quadrant property owners could also be asked to contribute via a special assessment, according to DDA Executive Director Carolyn Bennett.
Bennett stressed that when the time comes to do the project, the entire parking lot won’t be ‘ripped? up all at once.
She said it will be done in ‘phases? so as to avoid any major disruptions to downtown businesses.