Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Public Safety and traffic were among the top concerns hashed out during Wednesday night’s board meeting in Green Oak Township about the relocation of the Costco Gas Station.

Costco, located off Whitmore Lake Road, is acquiring land south of the existing warehouse property for the project where a new fuel facility and parking lot is planned. Current traffic patterns and consistent back-ups have caused unusually long wait times and significant traffic delays. The new facility is expected to reduce that congestion, and will be primarily accessed by the west private road that connects Maltby Road to the Cosco warehouse.

There will be 20 fuel pumps, or 40 fuel dispensers, to increase capacity over the current facility. A memo states the new facility will provide wider bypass lanes between pumps, a greater number of fueling positions to service vehicles at peak times, longer queuing, and efficient ingress and egress along an internal drive lane.

After much discussion last night, the Board of Trustees granted final approval for the relocation of the gas station and a proposed amendment to the Planned Unit Development or PUD for Costco.

Conditional approval was earlier granted by the board but was subject to an external traffic study being submitted to township planners for administrative review and approval – which was done. It indicated trip development would be less per the internal and external studies, meaning less traffic and less trips. Not everyone was on board with the studies conducted.

Trustee Dan Rainko stated he had some problems with the traffic study regarding trip distribution and diverted trips from Maltby Road. He stressed his biggest concern is s Maltby Road – and the safety of people leaving there. Rainko noted the closest exit out of Costco is to go to Whitmore Lake Road or Lee Road and he doesn’t see that happening. He said people will get gas and utilize Maltby Road – saying it gets used a lot already and “it’s so dangerous now to pull out over there it’s ridiculous”.

Supervisor Mark St. Charles stated he understood Rainko’s concerns and he too has expressed traffic concerns before. He commented there’s no way people who get gas will go out to exit on Whitmore Lake Road and make a left – saying it’s like asking for “sudden death” and they’ll head out south to Maltby Road.
St. Charles said there are serious visibility problems and trying to pull out of Malby Road is horrible – noting trees and other obstacles – and he’s almost gotten clipped on more than one occasion. St. Charles added he thinks that’s where Rainko is at – “more gas pumps, more traffic”. He commented further that he was “caught between a rock and a hard place”, because what was required was d0ne but he still thinks the traffic study is “flawed or at least in question”.

Other safety concerns were mentioned at the board table, and it was stated the situation there is not working and Costco needs to expand the gas station but future problems with flow are likely.

Clerk Michael Sedlak said his objections to the project have been well stated throughout the process and he doesn’t believe there won’t be increased traffic when there are that many gas pumps. He further questioned representatives about what would they plan to do if traffic does become a problem and they get more trips than anticipated.

Costco representatives responded to say that they would handle what they create on the property and are not going to design something that doesn’t work. It was stated they were reminded by the Planning Commission recently that they’ve been discussing this project for over a year and celebrated their one-year anniversary – adding they have scrutinized plans and exits, and Costco is standing behind their plan.

Representatives told the board they would work to solve any problems created within the development – further commenting the plans have been reviewed and approved by multiple agencies including township consultants, the county, and MDOT.

The board voted in favor of the project in a 4-2 vote, with Sedlak and Rainko opposed. Treasurer Tricia Wiggle-Bazzy was absent.

St. Charles offered a lasting thought to the applicants saying hopefully they heard the board and understand their concerns about traffic – stressing they are not being adversarial but are just concerned about the health, safety, and welfare of not only their residents but customers and non-residents of Green Oak Township.