Brandon Twp.-Denise Fortiner waits in about a quarter-mile long line in her white Jeep Cherokee for her daughter Lauren, an eighth grade student at Brandon Middle School.
‘If you’re not here at 2 o’clock’you’re stopping traffic out in M-15 with those picking up students from school,? said Fortiner. ‘It’s a serious situation.?
Fortiner joins hundreds of other drivers who pick up and drop off students during school days in a congested, heavy traffic area along M-15. A combination of business traffic, commuters and school traffic converge around one entrance to the Brandon Middle school causing an entanglement that has drawn the ire of parents and others who maneuver the daily gauntlet.
Tom Miller Brandon school district superintendent says dropping off and picking up students at the Brandon Middle school will take some new turns under the upcoming bond extension.
‘A combination of a new drop off location on the south side of the school, a new exit to the north (of the middle school) in addition to a deceleration lane along M-15 are in the works,? said Miller.
‘Hopefully the bond extension will pass which will enable us to do this.?
A vote on a district bond extension netting $73.4 million for several major renovations including technology upgrades, a new elementary school and a new football complex, could come as early as May 2 say school officials. Changes in the entrances and exists several of the schools are also part of the plan.
Miller estimates about 200 cars pick up and drop off some of the more than 600 students who attend the middle school each day.
Included in the plan is a new road just south of Brandon Tire Company that will allow motorists an exit to the north only.
Steve Stramsak, Traffic and Safety engineer for the Michigan Department of Transportation from Oakland Transportation Service Center says the plan for the middle school-M-15 traffic issue should eliminate the majority of the problems. Stamsak along with Miller have been studying the problem for the past few months.
‘I’m not saying there won’t be anymore backups if the changes are implement, but they should make a big difference,? he said. ‘From our observation about half the traffic coming out of the middle school goes south and the other half goes north.?
Stramsak says after observing the traffic congestion he would consider the afternoon to be the most dangerous. ‘In the morning there’s such a gridlock that speed is not a factor.?
The cost for the project will be funded primarily by the school district and at least some of the funding for the turn lane near Bank One will be provided by MDOT.