VBT DDA recommends Wade Trim for Safe Streets Plan

At its regular meeting on Oct. 24, the Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority voted unanimously to recommend Wade Trim engineers to gather information and complete the SS4A Safe Streets and Roads for All Comprehensive Safety Action Plan.
The township received a grant of $384,900 from the U.S. Department of Transportation which is matched by 20% — $97,000 – from the DDA, for a total of $481,500, which will fund implementation of this project in part.
Wade Trim proposed data collection to conduct modeling and complete the study, a truck route study, and a pedestrian traffic study (conceptual cost estimate).
There were proposals from six firms and the review committee recommended Wade Trim.
DDA Executive Director Merrie Coburn said the township is developing the plan with a goal of achieving zero roadway fatalities by the year 2028 and a 50% reduction in crashes resulting in injury along arterials, collectors, and local roads in the township.
The project includes the entire township, but will focus on troublesome areas. The focus will be on the Belleville Road Corridor, where traffic volumes reach 35,000 a day.
With this plan in place, the township will be ranked higher for larger grants for the widening of Belleville Road, according to consultants.
In other business at the 27-minute, Oct. 24 meeting, the DDA:
• Approved the review committee’s recommendation of Wade Trim for completion of the Belleville Road Corridor Safety & Complete Streets Plan out of proposals from three firms. The SEMCOG Planning Assistance Program Award for $40,000 was received by the township which in part will fund this project. This plan, for Belleville Road only, overlaps with the SS4A plan for the whole township, Coburn said;
• Approved the price quote of Davenport Brothers Construction of Belleville to install the concrete pad for the benches and trash can on the former DNR property north of the Belleville Bridge at Quirk Road, now owned by Van Buren Township. Cost is $3,800. Jamie’s Custom Concrete and Construction of Livonia was high-bidder at $5,485; Romana Construction of Melvindale was $3,700; and Saladino Construction Company of Ann Arbor was low bidder at $3,200;
• Approved the 2024 meeting dates as 3 p.m. the fourth Tuesdays of the month: Jan. 23, Feb. 27, March 26, April 23, May 28, June 25, July 23, Aug. 27, Sept. 24, Oct. 22, Nov. 26 and no meeting in December. The chairman can change the time of the meeting if necessary;
• Approved a budget amendment to move $1.3 million from fund balance to the recently approved Belleville Road Right of Way Acquisition ($1 million) and Engineering ($300,000) for the design concept cost for the Belleville Road Widening Project. Staff had completed the budget projects for fiscal year 2023 and so the budget amendment spreadsheet dated Oct. 24 needed a resolution by the DDA board. This brings the fund balance for 2023 down to $4,500,058.74;
• Heard Coburn report three property owners have replied to DDA offers of right-of-way acquisitions along Belleville Road between Tyler and Ecorse as determined by the DDA in a closed session during its last meeting. She said that started the 30-day clock ticking for agreements. After a closed-door session at the Sep. 26 DDA meeting, the board voted to make the Just-Compensation Offers as presented in the amount of $800,000 with a 20% incentive offer to each easement if accepted within 30 days of the offer;
• Heard Coburn report that the DDA Small Business Resource Session got off to a slow start but is gaining traction. She is continuing to survey small businesses in the district to determine their training needs. Resource Sessions are being held the first and third Tuesdays and Thursdays at the DDA building;
• Learned Coburn is planning the first-annual Light Up the Park event at Harris Park, tentatively at 6 p.m. Nov. 16. A $600 frame tree will be in the center, with hot chocolate and treat hand outs; and
• Was informed Coburn is surveying the DDA district businesses to see who is interested in purchasing a banner to have it hung along the Belleville Road Corridor, between Tyler and Quirk roads. DDA chairman Craig Atchinson suggested business banners at a recent meeting and said he was interested in one for his business. The agreement calls for payment of $125 for the banner plus a $25 installment fee.