Progress is being made toward getting a traffic signal installed at Broadway St./M-24 and widening the state highway to five lanes through downtown Oxford.
‘I’m personally in favor of getting a light in as quick as possible,? said village President Chris Bishop.
Last week, Bishop, along with Councilman Tony Albensi and Manager Joe Young, met with representatives from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to discuss plans for M-24 from just south of Broadway all the way to Burdick St.
‘What we’ve done here is to kind of give you an idea of what kind of layout we would approve,? said Paul Ajegba, MDOT’s Oakland Transportation Service Center (TSC) manager
MDOT officials presented the village with preliminary drawings that called for the installation of a right-turn lane at Broadway St./M24 ? a requirement for a traffic signal.
This lane would allow northbound M-24 traffic to turn right and head east along Broadway St.
Young is expected to negotiate with the owners of the Crittenton Medical Plaza to obtain the necessary amount of right-of-way (about 22 feet in width) to accommodate both a right-turn lane and the beginning of a center left-turn lane.
It was noted how important this new signal would be to both the Crittenton Medical Plaza and Oxford Bank.
MDOT’s drawings also showed plans to install a center left-turn lane that would begin just south of Broadway St. and run north all the way to the existing left-turn lane at Burdick St./M-24. It’s 1,050 feet from Broadway to Burdick.
This lane would allow southbound M-24 traffic to turn left and head east on Broadway St.
A center lane would also allow northbound-M-24 traffic to turn left and head west on Dennison St. while southbound M-24 traffic could turn left and head east on Stanton St.
Left-turns onto Mechanic St. would be prohibited for northbound M-24 traffic.
‘It’s just too close to the Broadway intersection,? said Steve Stramsack, MDOT’s Oakland TSC traffic and safety engineer. ‘Our expectation is that people would not be able to get into that left-turn lane. They’d be stopping in the northbound through-lane which would not be a very good thing to do.?
Although this center lane would begin just south of Broadway, there would be no left turn at the Broadway St./M-24 intersection for northbound traffic because there’s no street to the west.
‘We have to put something in there to line everything up through the intersection,? said Stramsack, explaining the reason for the tapered lane.
In order to widen M-24, MDOT recommended taking a ‘majority, if not all? of the necessary right-of-way (about 11 feet in width) from properties along the west side of the road.
‘There’s a little bit more room on the west side of the roadway,? Stramsack said.
This would mean eliminating the five on-street parking spaces in front of Centennial Park.
Getting rid of these spaces shouldn’t be a problem because as Bishop pointed out, ‘It’s not very often that people park in front of that park.?
Ajegba noted that if the village wished to widen M-24 in a more symmetrical manner ? meaning obtaining the necessary right-of-way equally from both the east and west sides ? it would mean the loss of the nine on-street parking spaces which begin in front of the Oxford 7 and run north.
Bishop didn’t like that idea.
‘I do know people park (there),? he said.
Eliminating only the five spaces in front of Centennial Park would be ‘less intrusive? to the DDA’s concern about on-street parking, according to Bishop.
Village officials made it clear they want the traffic signal and right-turn lane at Broadway St./M-24 done first.
Early next year is the soonest the village could expect to see that happen, according to Stramsack.
‘We already have our 2008 fiscal year budget spent,? he said. ‘We would have to wait until fiscal year 2009 to start working on it . . . We wish it could be a little quicker naturally, but unfortunately, fiscal constraints being what they are.?
Once that’s completed, Bishop said the village can ‘aggressively? pursue widening M-24 with a fifth-lane.
The village is expected to obtain all of the necessary right-of-way for both projects.
‘The village would be able to do that slightly quicker than we would be able to,? Stramsack said. ‘Our process is basically federally-mandated and it’s normally 1? to 2 years.?
Using federal monies, MDOT will pay for 90 percent of the new signal cost, while the village will be expected to cover the remaining 10 percent.
‘Typically, the Feds will cover 90 percent of the signal installation,? Stramsack explained. ‘They’ll cover all the construction costs for it. They will not cover the overhead necessary, which is basically the engineering of it. That’s where the cost-share comes in.?
MDOT will pay 100 percent of the cost for construction of the right-turn lane at Broadway St. and M-24, according to Stramsack.
Installation of a fifth-lane along M-24 would be paid for by the village.
The municipality is expected to pursue grant money and private contributions to finance this project.