During a special Eastpointe City Council meeting, residents and business owners expressed opposition towards the proposed Nine Mile Road diet, despite the focus being primarily on the project’s costs. Although formal plans have not been established, the idea of a road diet between Tuscany Avenue and Interstate 94 or Tuscany Avenue and Kelly Road has been brought up. The Mayor, Michael Klinefelt, has requested a new traffic study along with additional information to determine the feasibility of the road diet and potential roundabouts.
City Manager Mariah Walton explained that the administration decided to address the road project financing because construction costs have been rising. Officials wished to verify that there would be enough funds available for all three phases of the Nine Mile project. With an 81.85% federal funding, MDOT must approve the reconstruction plans for the project. Walton revealed that the cost of the third phase may surpass the federal earmarked amount, regardless of the design having either five lanes or three lanes.
Discussions took place to decide if it was necessary for the city to modify the scope of the project or if funds were sufficient from the city’s major road fund to complete the work between Kelly Road and I-94. An estimate for a five-lane reconstruction between Tuscany and Kelly is around $4.4 million, whereas a three-lane design costs around $4.2 million. The cost for reconstructing Nine Mile Road between Kelly Road and the freeway with a median for left turn restriction is approximately $1.9 million, and no plans for a road diet were considered for that specific road segment at this moment.
Furthermore, the city is exploring the addition of roundabouts at Kelly Road and Schroeder Avenue, estimated to cost $1.5 million and $995,000, respectively. Retaining the traditional intersection at Kelly Road would cost an estimated $470,000. During the meeting, City Finance Director Randy Blum provided detailed financial insights to the City Council, suggesting the third phase of the Nine Mile Road project continue as planned. However, no definitive decisions were made about the road diet or roundabout additions.
Several residents and business owners participated in the meeting and spoke out against the proposed road diet and roundabout plans, sharing their frustration about the continual return of the road diet topic, even after previous negative responses. The completed work on phase one of the project west of Gratiot Avenue was praised, with numerous attendees requesting five lanes throughout the entire Nine Mile Road corridor. They emphasized their reasons against reducing the number of lanes, specifically on the city’s main thoroughfare. The opposition maintained that these changes were unwelcome because public safety officials (the police and fire chiefs) opposed a road diet. They asserted that further discussion about this matter was no longer warranted following these statements from safety authorities and the general dissent expressed by residents and business owners.