It appears the speed limit on N. Oxford Road between Ray Road and the village limits will be reduced, but by how much remains to be seen.
‘I can tell you now, I’m pretty sure it’s probably going to go down,? said Sgt. Derrick A. Barker, Sr. of the Michigan State Police Traffic Services Section. ‘How far down is another issue.?
On May 20, Barker met with Oxford Township Supervisor Bill Dunn, Oxford Schools Assistant Superintendent Ron Franey, Oakland County Road Commission Traffic Services Engineer Mohammed Lutfi and a handful of N. Glaspie St. residents.
The informal meeting took place at the intersection of Ray and N. Oxford roads and the topic was reducing the speed limit on N. Oxford Rd. from the current 50 miles per hour to 35 mph.
‘I want it to be noted we all wanted 35 (mph),? Franey told Barker.
‘If we can give you 35 (mph), you’ll get 35 (mph),? Barker said. ‘I we can’t, you’ll get 40 (mph). If we can make it happen, we’ll make it happen.?
Currently, the speed limit on N. Oxford Rd. is 50 mph, south of Ray Rd. to the village limits, at which point the road becomes N. Glaspie St. and the speed limit immediately and abruptly drops to 25 mph.
Residents on N. Glaspie St. wanted the speed limit reduced to 35 mph on N. Oxford Rd. in the hopes it will help reduce the speed of traffic on their street.
‘I’ve lived there all my life and there’s never been so many speeder like there are now,? said N. Glaspie St. resident Marilyn Benner, who attended the meeting. ‘I’ve seen them doing 60 (mph) by my house which is a 25 (mph speed zone).?
‘From the stop sign on W. Burdick (St.) coming through the village, (drivers) will go like 30 and 35 (mph). But once they get to East St. (still inside the village’s 25 mph zone), they start accelerating and they’re going anywhere from 50 to 60 to 65 (mph) by the time they get to the township because they know there’s no more residential and there’s very little enforcement,? explained N. Glaspie St. resident Tom Benner, who also attended the meeting.
In response to residents? concerns, both the township board and village council have previously approved resolutions requesting the speed limit on N. Oxford Rd. be reduced to 35 mph.
In addition, Oxford Superintendent Virginia Brennan-Kyro penned an (DATE) letter to (WHO) requesting (WHAT SPECIFICALLY).
Barker said based on the numbers he’s seen from traffic studies conducted on N. Oxford Rd. by the road commission, the speed limit appears to merit reduction.
‘I think there’s a very good possibility we’re going to lower it from 50 (mph),? he said.
Barker told the meeting attendees it appears based on preliminary figures the new speed would probably be either 40 or 35 mph.
‘I will try to get it (35 mph) for you, but I can’t guarantee it will happen,? he said. ‘But 40 (mph) would certainly be better than 50 (mph).?
‘To be quite honest with you, there’s not a significant difference between 35 and 40 (mph),? Barker noted.
The sergeant explained that although 35 mph may be the ‘ideal speed,? and the speed residents and officials want, it may not be the ‘realistic speed? for that road.
‘People are going to drive at the speed limit they feel comfortable with,? Barker explained. ‘Whether you like it or not, that’s just the way it is.?
‘To set (the speed limit) at an unrealistic, low speed limit is just increasing the noncompliance. Then you have more of an enforcement issue. If you set it at 35 (mph) and most people feel comfortable doing 45 (mph) that’s what they’re going to drive.?
Barker explained that ‘it’s best to set (the speed limit) as close as possible to? what traffic studies of the road indicate is the speed 85 percent of the drivers using it are travelling at.
‘Then you have driver compliance and that’s the speed limit people feel comfortable with,? he said. ‘Then we can focus on the other 15 percent in terms of enforcement.?
In addition to the speeds of drivers, Barker said other ‘environmental conditions? are taken into consideration such as the condition of the road, pedestrian traffic along the road, traffic volume, traffic crashes, etc.
If the above environmental conditions ‘warrant it,? Barker said whatever the speed studies indicate the 85th percentile speed is for drivers on a given road, that number can be reduced by an additional seven miles, with approval from Lansing. For example, if the speed studies show 42 mph for N. Oxford Rd. and environmental conditions warrant it, the limit could be lowered to 35 mph.
‘We’ll work with you as much as possible within the guidelines given to us to get the speed limit down,? Barker told officials and residents.
‘The bottom line is we are going to see a reduction (in the speed limit)?,? asked Dunn.
‘Yes,? replied Barker.
Current and possible future residential development along N. Oxford Rd. was mentioned by local officials and residents as another reason why a speed limit reduction to 35 mph is needed.
‘We can only take into account conditions as they exist right now,? Barker said. Later, when the development is completed and impacting the road, Barker said the situation can be studied again and reevaluated.
Barker said changes in the area ‘can work both ways.? He said the new people could be speeders or not. Also, ‘sometimes the high traffic volume will slow things down.?
‘We won’t know until everything’s in place,? he said.
No matter the new reduced speed limit on N. Oxford Rd. ends up being, enforcement will be the key issue, according to the sergeant.
‘The speeding issue has to be addressed by enforcement,? he said. ‘Once we get everything situated with the speed limit, then you have to bring in enforcement to get people to slow down, to abide by the speed limit. The mere posting of the speed limit is not going to change driving behavior. The only thing that changes driving behavior is to write a ticket. The unfortunate side of that is sometimes it’s the residents that get the tickets.?
Dunn said the village and township are working together to coordinate enforcement efforts between their respective police forces.