Eastpointe council votes to approve Kelly Road corridor plan

EASTPOINTE — The Eastpointe City Council recently voted to approve the Kelly Road corridor complete streets plan.

The vote came at the City Council’s May 7 meeting, after it had been recommended by the city’s Planning Commission.

Eastpointe, along with Harper Woods and Detroit, has been working to create a plan to redesign a stretch of Kelly Road. A steering committee had been created, and on March 21, it held a public engagement session to show proposed plans and receive feedback from the community. Brigitte Smith Wolf, an associate planner for McKenna Associates, said that between 40 and 50 people from all three cities attended the session.

McKenna is working with the three municipalities to facilitate the project as well as prepare the redesign concept, conduct public engagement sessions and draft reports. In addition to the public engagement session, the committee has been gathering feedback from an online survey, which Smith Wolf said has received more than 110 responses.

“Overall, people were supportive of the elements included in the redesign and our efforts to make Kelly Road more user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing,” she said after the March 21 meeting.

According to Eastpointe Economic Development Director Ian McCain, the goals of the project include supporting existing business while also attracting new ones; implementing equal access; marketing and branding the corridor as a regional destination; and enhancing and expanding green space areas.

While the majority of the Planning Commission at the May 2 meeting was in favor of recommending that the City Council approve the plans, Commissioner Kimle Nailer voted against it. She said she thinks the businesses should be offered facade improvements to create a more vibrant community before the road is redesigned.

“Where are we going to ride our bikes to, these businesses? I wouldn’t feel like I’m in a good, vibrant place,” she said.

Nailer, along with Secretary Sheila Ulinski, voiced concerns about a lack of lighting in the area, which City Planner Mara Braciszewski said would be addressed with an implementation grant they could apply for through the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program.

Smith Wolf said that if the City Council approved the plans, they planned to apply for the program.

In the end, the motion passed 3-1.

The recommendation came before the City Council at its May 7 meeting. Council members Cardi DeMonaco Jr. and Harvey Curley both spoke in favor of the redesign plan.

“I know this not the final document, but what you’re proposing is great. It’s mind-blowing, actually,” Curley said.

The motion passed council unanimously.

According to a memo from McKenna, key improvements of the redesign include wider sidewalks; protected bike lanes; amenities including bike racks, lighting, seating and public art; crosswalks; amenities for transit riders at each bus stop; and outdoor dining space.

McKenna also suggested creating a regional branding and marketing effort, facade improvement programs and a corridor improvement committee for continued oversight and investment in continued growth along the corridor.

With the plans approved, the city will file an application for the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program, according to the motion passed by the City Council. If awarded, the funds will be used to continue engaging with and receiving input from the community while the project moves forward.