He joined Birmingham City Commission candidate Katie Schafer and resident Joan Schloop at the corner of Woodward and Forest to install a “ghost bike,” a white-painted bicycle meant to serve as an attention-garnering roadside memorial to mark where a biker was killed by a vehicle. Not just these yellow pedestrian signs and the flags, which we just added on Thursday,” said Baller on the evening of Oct. “We need standardized crosswalks with countdowns. MDOT officials have not provided any commitment to install or implement any pedestrian safety measures, nor scheduled a Road Safety Audit,” Ecker continued.Ĭity Commissioner Clinton Baller went ahead and installed buckets at the entry and exits of the crosswalk which hold fluorescent crossing flags that pedestrians can carry across with them to improve visibility to drivers, though it’s not an optimal solution. “Four weeks have now passed (since the last pedestrian fatality) and MDOT has not installed any permanent or temporary safety measures at the Woodward and Brown/Forest pedestrian crossing. She added that MDOT’s other suggestions have been a “deflection of responsibility,” recommending vegetation clearance, lighting improvements and police patrols be implemented before state intervention, though Woodward in its entirety is owned, controlled and maintained by MDOT. “The only site change MDOT proposes is to temporarily deploy a speed radar trailer on Woodward.” “(Offered) ‘solutions’ involve MDOT agreeing only to observe, explore, investigate and evaluate existing conditions and crossing improvements, with no commitment whatsoever to install or implement any permanent improvements,” Ecker wrote to the governor. Gretchen Whitmer, she noted that while city leaders have been given vague and even conflicting responses from MDOT about improving the crosswalk at Woodward and Forest, two pedestrians have been fatally struck by cars while attempting to cross in just the past 13 months. The four-lane stretch in either direction is nearly impossible for a pedestrian to judge clearance, since cars pull onto the road from various directions: around the corners of turn lanes, out of commercial lots along Woodward and from side streets.Įach time the city has requested MDOT review safety measures at the intersection, the state has allegedly replied the same way: We’ll look into it.īut the process hasn’t moved quickly enough, according to Birmingham Assistant City Manager Jana Ecker.
The yield lines painted on the street aren’t visible to drivers at night. There are no pedestrian signal heads at the crossing to indicate when it’s safe to walk. Mount Clemens - Clinton - Harrison JournalīIRMINGHAM - According to the city of Birmingham, officials have reached out to the Michigan Department of Transportation several times over many years about the crosswalk at Woodward and Forest avenues.
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