VBT DDA approves new 10-year Capital Improvement Plan

At its regular meeting Jan. 28, the Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority approved a new Capital Improvement Plan with 18 projects over the next 10 years.
Dave Nummer and Carmelle Tremblay of Wade Trim said the VBT DDA needs a new list of projects since it has completed all the projects on its old list. Wade Trim was hired to assist in putting together the new plan.
The two passed out booklets presenting the projects and then discussed the prioritized projects one by one, with the most important at the beginning of the list.
1. Traffic studies – including the Belleville Road corridor, Yost Road to Ecorse (converting from four-lane to three-land roadway — “road diet”), converting Belleville from Ecorse to Tyler into three-lane roadway; truck route study, pedestrian traffic study, proposed ring road traffic study, and Quirk/Belleville Road traffic signal warrant study (various cost estimates);
2. Belleville Road improvements from Tyler to Ecorse — including center left-turn lane ($5.1 million), sidewalk extension north of Tyler ($500,000), Tyler-Belleville Road intersection improvements ($100,000), street lights ($1.5 million), bury power lines ($20 million);
3. Concrete joint repairs on Belleville Road between I-94 and Belleville Lake Bridge — cost estimate $1.4 million;
4. Tyler Road sidewalk, east of Belleville Road to Haggerty Road — cost estimate $800,000;
5. I-94 South Service Drive sidewalk from the pedestrian bridge at Quirk to Belleville Road — cost estimate $150,000;
6. Periodic sidewalk maintenance throughout the DDA district — conceptual annual budget $250,000;
7. Additional mid-block pedestrian crosswalk along Belleville Road between North I-94 Service Drive and Westlake Circle — cost estimate $200,000;
8. Way-finding signs using DDA branding — cost estimate $150,000;
9. Pedestrian path on I-94 North Service Drive from Belleville Road to Morton Taylor Road — cost estimate $250,000;
10. Updated Belleville Road streetscape — cost estimate $200,000;
11. Continued brand awareness and marketing campaign — historically $50,000/year;
12. Grant program to encourage development, redevelopment, and reinvestment — estimate $75,000 per development;
13. Placemaking projects — based on priority;
14. Traffic signal at Belleville Road and Van Born Road intersection — estimate $300,000;
15. Traffic signal at Belleville Road and Quirk Road — cost estimate $300,000;
16. Ring Road between I-94 North Service Drive and Belleville Road (behind Westlake Apartments) — cost estimate $5.9 million;
17. Regional detention pond — no estimate given;
18. Bury power lines on Belleville Road from the Belleville Bridge to Tyler Road — estimate $20 million.
In other business at the Jan. 28 meeting the DDA:
• Welcomed the new director of the Detroit Region Aerotropolis Christopher Girdwood, who said Crossroads North by Ashley Capital, on Haggerty between Ecorse and Van Born, will bring $200 million to VBT. He said Haggerty is not a nice road and so he is working on getting the road redone with a center lane in the 2023 season, which is a $6 million project and he will apply for a federal grant along with money from the State and Wayne County’s $3 million. He said he also is working the Center for Mobility in Washtenaw County next door to VBT and if something is needed that can’t be done there it can come to VBT. Girdwood said the data centers VBT is attracting is a good market because there is less traffic and you don’t have to widen roads or build new schools and can use your money for something else;
• Approved the third amendment to the DDA bylaws to indicate that meetings will be held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. as they currently are being held. The bylaws have indicated the second Tuesday since 2009. Also, the bylaw change allows member participation in a meeting by remote access communication (teleconferencing — audio, video or web) and may be deemed present and vote at such a meeting;
• Approved phase 1 of the 2020 print marketing plan as presented at a cost not to exceed $10,000;
• Approved advertising for price quotations for janitorial services for 10151 Belleville Rd.;
• Approved authorizing DDA Executive Director Susan Ireland to install a code system lock on the door to 10151 Belleville Rd., for the public to use when using a meeting room; and
• Set a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, for consideration of the draft policy for use of the newly constructed building at 10151 Belleville Rd.
Special assistance with this story by Barbara Rogalle Miller.