A comprehensive traffic study will help Green Oak Township plan for future developments.

With multiple developments proposing to add 916 housing units in the township, the Board of Trustees is looking to prepare itself for how to handle the added traffic. Supervisor Mark St. Charles said that while normally the developers contract out the traffic study themselves, they wouldn’t collaborate with other builders and their studies to learn the true impact. The Board of Trustees had a plan in spring to request bids for a study on the entire area to be affected so that they will know themselves what kind of improvements they will need. St. Charles pointed out some of the areas he knows will need work. He identified the intersections at Rickett and Winans Lake Road, Winans Lake Road and Whitmore Lake Road, and Whitmore Lake Road and Silver Lake Road.

The supervisor said that when the bids started coming back in that he experienced a bit of “sticker shock.” St. Charles explained that in his head and the heads of many on the Board, they believed this was going to cost the township around $40,000 or more. Many of the bids came back far under that. Ultimately the Board elected to go with Bergmann Associates, who had the low bid of $8,750. Bergmann will begin the study soon and expects it to last for 6 weeks. (MK)