Township seeks solution to dangerous intersection

Sep. 10—TRAVERSE CITY — The population of Long Lake Township has grown over the last 10 to 15 years and with that growth comes more businesses, more traffic and a troubling stretch of road.

The intersections of North Long Lake and Strait roads, and another 700 feet to the east, North Long Lake and East Long Lake roads often cause a snarl of vehicle back-ups as drivers wait for their chance to turn.

In 2021, there were nine traffic crashes in that area, with four of them on Strait Road and two on North Long Lake Road, according to the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts compiled by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. None were fatalities.

A speed limit of 55 mph takes vehicles past West High School with its 1,600-plus students, a mobile home park, four apartment buildings, the entrance to East Long Lake Park, Long Lake Fire and Rescue and the home of "the best ice cream parlor" in the United States, Moomers.

Customers at Moomers often find themselves waiting to get out of the parking lot.

"Along with other intersections, this is a busy one, especially during school times or rush hour," said Jon Plummer, co-owner of Moomers. "Infrastructure needs to be tended to as our region grows."

Dave Sears, owner of Fresh Coast Market on North Long Lake Road, has a solution — lower the speed limit.

"I sit here and watch accidents all year long, but especially in summer," Sears said. "Common sense says that if you lower the speed limit a little it would at least reduce the impact of an accident.

"We've had significant development out here for 15 years or so, but the roads were built decades ago and have never changed."

The township hired Fleis & VandenBrink Engineering to do a Road Safety Audit in November of 2021 at a cost of $25,000, according to Ron Lemcool, supervisor of Long Lake Township.

"My concern has always been, these are the same roads that I grew up on and we are still driving on the same roads," Lemcool said.

The study determined several things could be done, Lemcool said. One solution is a roundabout that would realign Strait Road with East Long Lake Road, though that option has been ruled out because of the high cost of purchasing private property. Those right-of-way costs are not eligible for state or federal funding, he said.

"Plus, you're disrupting housing," Lemcool said.

Another solution would be installing a traffic light, but that is also not an option because the road dips at the intersections and traffic would struggle to stop and go on slippery winter roads, he said.

Lemcool said the most logical solution outlined by the study is installing flashing lights at the intersection, as well as widening the road to allow vehicles not making a left hand turn to continue, eliminating traffic pile-ups.

"We have to do something to handle the traffic flow," Lemcool said. "Maybe the flashing lights will slow it down. That's the main thing, how do we slow that traffic down?"

The township board recently voted to move forward with the plan, though Lemcool does not know what the cost is. He said the township paid for the study and now it is up to the Grand Traverse County Road Commission to fund it by applying for grants that could be used.

Brad Kluczynski, road commission manager, said the Road Safety Audit includes a speed study, but also at factors such as curves in the road, visibility issues, stopping issues, traffic disruptions and whether there should be guardrails.

The state funds safety projects, but has a maximum of $600,000 for each project. Lemcool said there is also American Rescue Plan Act funds that the project would qualify for.

Fleis & VandenBrink worked with a team from MDOT as all projects must meet certain standards to be eligible for safety funds, Kluczynski said. One of those requirements says there have to be at least 30 driveways within a half-mile stretch of road, he said.

Kluczynski said most of the time when a township requests a speed study to reduce the speed limit, it is actually raised to 55 miles per hour, the standard for county roads in Michigan.

"Chances are we are not going to see reduced speed limits," he said. "When you put an artificially low speed limit in place people will ignore it."

Sears said he hopes someone doesn't have to die before something is done.

"Why do we have to lose a community member or a tourist when everybody recognizes there's a problem," Sears said. "It's maddening."