Editorial: Speedway needs land from DDA to satisfy county

At the regular meeting of the Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority on March 28, Speedway LLC had four representatives present to request a 27’ sliver of land along Belleville Road to satisfy Wayne County’s requirement for the driveway design.
Speedway wishes to construct a 4,600-square-foot service station on 2.08 acres at the northeast corner of Belleville and Tyler roads. In order to do so, Wayne County wants a special roadway design that requires using land that the DDA purchased in 2013 for sidewalks.
After a long discussion, the DDA voted unanimously to agree to sell what was needed, about 200 feet of the strip, to Speedway LLC at $122 per linear foot (what it paid for the property) for its frontage on Belleville Road, subject to a mutual agreement being worked out.
The representatives from Speedway said they need to take that proposal to their directors to move forward.
VBT Supervisor Kevin McNamara said that intersection is slightly misaligned and maybe the county will be able to straighten it out with this project. He said now northbound traffic on Belleville Road making a left turn at Tyler comes in as #2 in accidents in the township.
He told the developers that they are at the gateway to the new developments along Belleville Road north of Tyler. Presently only two vacant lots are left between the freeway and Tyler, he said.