Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The City of Brighton was awarded grant funds for a road safety audit or RSA on a busy section of Grand River slated to undergo major improvements.

SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, awarded eight grants to conduct formal safety performance examinations of existing or planned roads/intersections across the region.

The grant for the City of Brighton is related to Grand River from Main Street to the I-96 Interchange, with a focus on Main Street to Cross Street and Challis Road to the I-96 Interchange. It was selected for the audit to help address gaps in the pedestrian network and provide safe access to the downtown and businesses in the surrounding areas.

Brighton Mayor Kristofer Tobbe said "Over the years, the City of Brighton and the surrounding community have grown and developed at a high rate. Brighton is bisected by Grand River Avenue. There are numerous citizens in our community that currently need to walk nearly 1 mile to get to a crosswalk to safely cross Grand River Ave. These studies will give the City of Brighton good quantitative data to help determine the best and safest place for our pedestrians to cross the 5 lanes of Grand River Ave. to go to work, conduct commerce, or enjoy the City of Brighton”.

MDOT has a big project planned for the area with some preliminary work scheduled in the fall, but the majority of work kicks off next year. A link to the project page is provided.

Meanwhile, the road safety audits will be conducted by an independent, multi-disciplinary audit team and result in priority recommendations for safety improvements.

SEMCOG Executive Director Amy O'Leary said "Our region has a strong coalition of partners who are committed to putting safety first and creating a safe and equitable environment for all. We are taking a systematic approach to creating safe streets in Southeast Michigan by studying some of the locations with the greatest opportunity for impact. Each of these audits represents an opportunity to identify and implement life-saving improvements”.

The City of Wixom also received an award for an RSA for the segments of Wixom Road from Old Wixom Road to Michigan Airline Trail Crossing, Pontiac Trail from ATS Drive to Center Blvd, and Old Wixom Road from Pontiac Trail to Wixom Road. That area was selected to help address safety issues related to high traffic volumes, an at-grade rail crossing, and increased non-motorized activity in the downtown area and from the Michigan Airline Trail.

A link to a release with all of the grant recipients is provided.