Nine Mile Road plans create tension for Eastpointe City Council and business owners

EASTPOINTE — Plans to change Nine Mile Road from five lanes to three lanes continue to cause tension between City Council members and business owners, even after the plans were halted.

At the Eastpointe City Council’s Feb. 6 meeting, the council members voted 3-2 in favor of a “road diet” that would change Nine Mile Road from five lanes to three lanes between Pleasant and Tuscany avenues. However, at the March 19 meeting, the council voted 4-1 to rescind the vote, which meant Nine Mile would stay at five lanes.

At both meetings, Councilman Cardi DeMonaco Jr. voted in favor of the road diet plans.

But even with the council voting to rescind the vote and halt the plans, the road diet concept was revisited at the June 4 meeting — much to the dismay of some council members.

At the meeting, Mayor Michael Klinefelt asked the city administration to work with Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick Inc. — the city’s engineering firm — to look into reducing lanes from Schroeder Avenue to Kelly Road. That stretch of Nine Mile is east of the Pleasant to Tuscany stretch of Nine Mile.

“I thought because of the light at that intersection (at Schroeder Avenue), it might be a good area to create a transitional space there,” he said.

Klinefelt asked that the city’s engineering firm meet with the Macomb County Federal Aid Committee, Federal Highway Administration, Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and the Michigan Department of Transportation to perform any studies that would need to be completed before the plan could be implemented.

Klinefelt also asked that a traffic study get underway as soon as possible.

City Council called a special meeting for June 28, which occurred after the Eastsider went to press. The meeting’s agenda had two items, one of which was to discuss the estimated project costs on the third phase of the Nine Mile Road reconstruction project. Visit candgnews.com for updates.

Klinefelt believes that reducing the lanes would make the road safer for pedestrians and increase foot traffic for businesses, which he said would also help attract new businesses to move into the vacant properties along the corridor.

“I think it would create a safer road that would slow down traffic in those areas,” he said. “I know that we sat through some lengthy hearings where we heard about all the horror stories of people who are afraid to turn left onto Nine Mile because (Nine Mile Road is) too fast.”

Klinefelt said that there are a lot of accidents on Nine Mile Road and people speeding to and from Nine Mile Road onto the side streets in the area.

However, not all council members agree with Klinefelt. Councilman Harvey Curley pressed Klinefelt and DeMonaco for statistics showing a high number of fatalities and injuries along the road.

“You haven’t gotten those figures from the Fire Department or the Police Department, how many people in the last 12 months have been run over by a car that hopped the curb and ran a person over that was walking on Nine Mile,” he said.

“We can’t say it’ll make driving safer when we can’t come up with statistics about how many people (have been) literally run over when a car jumps the curb,” he added.

DeMonaco said slowing traffic will make the road safer from any kind of injury, not just pedestrian injuries.

“Injury in general,” he said. “Car hitting car, car hitting a person, all of everything, not just the one statistic. It will make all of those statistics safer.”

Councilman Rob Baker, who said he lives near the portion of Nine Mile Road that would be affected, said he frequently walks in the area and doesn’t feel unsafe. He also said it doesn’t feel like the council is listening to the concerns of residents and business owners in the area.

“I feel like we’re just kind of repeating the same process where we’re going to have to have business owners and residents come out again, and I feel like they’ve done a good job of expressing how they felt about it,” he said. “And I feel like we should listen to them. Otherwise, what’s the point of having people come out?”

Baker added that it felt like the City Council is backtracking.

Curley ended the discussion by stating that he was glad he “didn’t throw away my sign that says five, not two.”

“I’ll put my three-is-greater-than-five sign up, Councilman Curley,” DeMonaco said with a laugh.

Nine Mile Road is currently in the second phase of a three-phase reconstruction project that began in 2021. While the project is estimated to cost more than initially expected due to an increase in the price of concrete, about 81% is being paid for through federal funding, Ryan Kern, a senior project engineer from Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick Inc., said at a meeting in December 2023.

 

Business owners speak out against plan
Business owners along Nine Mile Road are concerned that a reduction in traffic volume will also bring a reduction in business.

David DeRonne, who owns DeRonne True Value Hardware on Nine Mile Road, strongly opposes the road diet.

“The volume that Nine Mile carries in traffic, it just can’t shrink from five lanes down to three. It just isn’t feasible, but they keep thinking that it is,” he said.

DeRonne said his family’s business relocated from Detroit in 1940. It has been at its current location for 34 years, he said, and customers have been telling him that they’re no longer going to patronize his business.

“Customers have told us that they’re sorry, but we’re shopping elsewhere,” he said.

The reason, he said, is that customers don’t want to deal with the construction.

“They’ve shifted their traffic pattern,” he said.

DeRonne said he doesn’t feel that the City Council has been listening to the residents and businesses in the area.

“I don’t get it. I don’t know why they keep trying to push this when the businesses have clearly told them that we’re not in favor of it,” he said. “We don’t want reduced traffic. We want more traffic.”

DeRonne also said he plans to petition to have DeMonaco recalled from City Council.

“(DeMonaco) said at one point, let’s just give it a try. And then later in the same meeting, he said, let’s just try it like this. … It’s not like trying a paint color,” DeRonne said.

DeRonne said DeMonaco’s attitude toward spending the city’s money is cause for concern.

“If he has that type of cavalier manner of thinking with spending money, we don’t need him on the City Council making decisions with city funds for any projects,” he said.

DeMonaco said DeRonne and an Eastpointe resident have tried three times to get recall petition language approved, but it has been repeatedly denied by the Macomb County Election Commission.

“I have advocated for a road diet on Nine Mile for many reasons, including, but not limited to, the benefits to small business, the improvements to walkability, and for the safety of pedestrians and others using Nine Mile to commute,” DeMonaco said. “I have done a lot of research on this topic, have read dozens of articles and have even read books on the subject.”

Clint Pattah, owner of Fresh Choice Market Place on Nine Mile Road, said his business is down by more than 40% this year, which he blames on the construction.

“It is a really, really busy street. To have a road diet here does not make sense at all and is going to hurt every business here,” he said. “The residents are going to be really upset also, because they can’t get around.”

To help attract business, Pattah said he’s spending over twice what he normally spends on advertising and is giving things away.

“We’re really bleeding in this area because of construction right now, which is the same way the road diet is going to be,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Pattah added that he and the other businesses and residents are taxpayers, and he questioned how he’s going to pay them if business continues to decline.

“How are we going to afford our taxes if our business is going to go down 40%?” he said.