GROVELAND TOWNSHIP- A traffic light at Oakwood and Ortonville roads may be one step closer.
Ortonville Village Manager Paul Zelenak said the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Road Commission for Oakland County will continue to review data collected by the Traffic Improvement Association. The association provides traffic data to municipalities, law enforcement agencies, and school districts, to help solve community traffic problems.
In an effort to preserve village street infrastructure, Zelenak along with Groveland Township Supervisor Robert DePalma met with TIA to study re-routing heavy truck traffic around the village, by installing a light at Oakwood and Ortonville roads.
“Heavy trucks cut through downtown rather than continuing on Oakwood Road to M-15. It’s just not safe,” said Zelenak.
“A light would make that intersection much easier to maneuver.”
Truckers are looking for a light to turn, said Zelenak, and currently traffic is increased through downtown, with larger vehicles crossing many school bus stops.
The result of the TIA study, completed last year, suggested that the Oakwood Road intersection appears to meet at least four of the eleven Michigan Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Device Warrants, to justify a traffic signal placement.
Satisfied in the criteria for a traffic signal at the intersection are: a minimum of 900 vehicles per hour, traffic conditions such that a minor street traffic suffers undue traffic delay in entering the major street for one hour each day, and four hours of peak traffic volume.
TIA sent the study results to MDOT, who now will do an in-depth study of the intersection this summer.