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Residents in the Aurora Park subdivision, located off of 25 Mile Road west of Van Dyke, say that the lack of a left-turn bypass lane along westbound 25 Mile has not only caused traffic concerns, but also poses as safety hazard and legal complications for residents returning home.

“I personally have almost been rear-ended several times making a left hand turn to get home,” said Gail Bratkowski, president of the Aurora Park homeowner’s association at the July 1 meeting of the Shelby Township board of Trustees. “People feel compelled to cross the double yellow lines so that traffic can go around them and they don’t get hit, and then they get a ticket. It’s a rising safety issue.”

The subdivision was developed in 1998. Subdivisions developed along roadways in Macomb County are normally required to have a left-hand bypass lane installed in order to avoid accidents and traffic back-ups. Robert Hoepfner, highway engineer for the Road Commission of Macomb County, said there was no waiver that exempted developers from installing a bypass lane.

“I believe it was on the plans when the development was approved, but that was a few years before I was here,” Hoepfner said. “As far as I know, there was no waiver and yet it was approved after everything was built, without the bypass lane.”

In similar instances, Hoepfner said that the RCMC normally installs “no left-hand turn” signs outside the subdivision. Road Commission officials studied the situation at Aurora Park and concluded that installing such a sign at that location would be counter-productive, forcing residents to go out of their way simply to return home or posing a situation where they would turn around in the parking lots of a nearby performing arts building or Eisenhower High School, posing more safety concerns.

“We’ve got a situation that is really unique in Aurora Park. The plans did call for a bypass lane that was never installed and it shows that the site was approved by the RCMC even though that lane had never been constructed,” said Shelby Township Trustee Paula Filar. “There is an unsafe condition in the area ... People can’t turn right out of the subdivision and people can’t turn left. People are stuck in their subdivision.”

The subdivision is located east of Eisenhower High School and the school’s performing arts center. Bratkowski said traffic from the school often causes heavy congestion and safety concerns during the school year.

“It’s just phenomenal. When school lets out, you can’t make a left-hand turn from the subdivision. You’re better off going right and taking the long way,” she said. “And when they constructed the performing arts center, I don’t know why no one ever noticed the lack of a bypass lane.”

Township Treasurer Paul Viar said the residents came to him recently and requested assistance. Viar and Filar requested the motion be placed on the agenda for the July 1 meeting with the request for the township to install the bypass lane at a cost of $49,000.

“I took the police chief out to this location and he agreed that it’s a safety hazard,” Viar said. “The county has no money to do it and I think we owe it to the residents to get this fixed quickly.”

Bratkowski, who has lived in Aurora Park for eight years, said she initially broached the subject with Shelby Township Supervisor Ralph Maccarone at the opening of the Shelby Township branch of the Secretary of State in 2006. At the July 1 meeting, Maccarone said he agrees that the residents are in need of some relief but suggested that members of the Board and Aurora Park residents approach the RCMC at its next meeting to request that the Road Commission fund the project.

“It’s really their pocketbook that should fund this,” Maccarone said. “It should be their general fund. It shouldn’t be your (residents’) taxes that would be tapped for this.”

Viar, however, said he feared that budget constraints and the county’s bureaucracy would cause unnecessary delays. The treasurer said that he did not see how there would be a problem in taking the funds to create the bypass lane when similar funds were used last year to construct pedestrian bridges over M-53 at 21 and 22 Mile Roads.

“This road is a hazard,” Viar said. “The Road Commission doesn’t have the funds, and they’ve told us that. These people don’t want to have to wait through all the legislative mumbo-jumbo.”

Trustee James Carabelli said it is likely that the Road Commission has the funds but has not budgeted for a bypass lane. He said it may be possible for the township to approve the construction and then make a case before the Road Commission for recouping the cost of the project.

Filar made a similar suggestion.

“This has gone on a long, long time and I would think that as a Board we should take the lead on this and assist our residents,” she said. “Just because the Road Commission didn’t take care of the residents, we should take care of the problem.”

Township Clerk Terri Kowal said there is another issue that could pose problems for the construction; a home is located along 25 mile and the homeowner’s driveway leads right out into where the bypass lane would be constructed; Kowal said any solution must take into consideration the safety and convenience of those homeowners.

After discussion, the Board recommended that Aurora Park residents and several Trustees attend the meeting of the RCMC on July 14. Should the Road Commission not approve funds to construct the bypass lane, an item on the agenda for the Board meeting the following night requests that the township move forward with the project.