The battle for control over the speed limit of gravel roads in Oakland County rages on.
Residents wary about the increased speed limit on about 283 gravel road segments in Oakland County, previously posted as 25 mph zones, were dealt a setback in December with Governor Jennifer Granholm’s veto of Senate Bill 248. The bill would have granted more local control of the gravel roads.
‘The bill would create a special exception from the standardized process for establishing speed limits adopted this year. I do not believe such an exception is appropriate,? said Granholm in a statement issued by her office.
State representative Jim Marleau, (R- 46th district), was one of the lawmakers spearheading the bill, amending what some representatives described as an unintended consequence of the earlier revision, and allowing local officials to petition for lower speed limits where they deem it necessary.
Now Marleau, along with Senator Nancy Cassis (R-15th district) and Representative John Stakoe (R-44th district), are pursuing a new bill to address the problem.
‘It’s very, very important,? said Marleau. ‘This is a safety issue. I’m very, very strongly trying to allow local control. Right now, the dirt roads are not under local control. As this thing started, we had local control but we didn’t realize it was for everything other than gravel roads.?
Marleau said the new proposed bill focuses solely on trying to reinstate those roads that were 25 mph.
Though Marleau originally voted for the revised state law, enacted by state legislature in March, that increased the speed limit on roads previously posted at 25 mph to 55 mph’even in residential areas? he said it was because he and other lawmakers were misled.
The original intent of the revised law seemed to stress local control, said Marleau. However, after the law was enacted, it was discovered that gravel roads were largely omitted from having that control because of a lack of studies conducted on those roads.
‘All of a sudden, the state police said, ‘Oh, by the way, we don’t do the studies on dirt roads.? This was like a catch-22 for us,? said Marleau.
Marleau said an exception should be made for Oakland County with regard to the speed limits because the county is, by its very geography, exceptional.
The winding nature of dirt roads, because of the number of lakes in the area and the number of people who live on those dirt roads, are the cause of the safety issue, said Marleau.