OTTAWA COUNTY...MICH — A road diet on Ottawa Beach Road in Park Township was meant to improve safety, but some residents say it doesn't go far enough.
Beth Nordyke, a petition organizer and concerned citizen, feels strongly that the speed limit on the road needs to be reduced from 45 to 35 miles per hour between 160th and 168th Avenue. She took part in creating the Drive for 35 petition with safety as the main motive. https://www.change.org/p/reduce-speed-speed-limit-on-ottawa-beach-rd-160th-ave-168th-ave-to-35-mphhttps://www.change.org/p/reduce-speed-speed-limit-on-ottawa-beach-rd-160th-ave-168th-ave-to-35-mph
"And I feel strongly, so strongly that this needs to be done before someone is severely injured or worse yet killed," Nordyke said.
Nordyke lives along that stretch of road and has witnessed the issues firsthand.
"I was shocked at the amount of traffic and the speed at which people travel down that road," she said. "I also witnessed off my own balcony several fender benders and screeching tires, people not stopping at the crosswalks. That is too fast for someone to stop, for a cyclist or a pedestrian that may be crossing the street."
The push for the reduction comes after a road diet was implemented on Ottawa Beach Road between 144th and 160th Avenue about a month ago.
"We took two of the lanes and converted them into one turn lane and then one driving lane. So instead of having four lanes of through traffic, you have three lanes of through traffic and then one center turn lane," said Alex Doty, communications administrator with the Ottawa County Road Commission.
The design came after Park Township approached the road commission looking for ways to calm traffic on the road.
"I know this summer, we do plan on looking at it to see how that's impacted speeds," Doty said.
However, for petitioners like Nordyke who want speed limit reductions to be enforced, there is a process that must be followed.
"Before new speed limits to be put into effect, there has to be an engineering study and agreements with the Michigan State Police on that," Doty explained.
The Process begins when the Park Township approaches the road commissioners with a request, in which they would then need to sign a resolution saying that they would like a speed study to be conducted.
Even if the process reaches that point, it's not guaranteed that the study will have the results Nordyke wants.
"If they look at the study and determine that the speed could be faster, you could ultimately end up with a faster speed or a slower speed," Doty said.
Regardless of the results, Nordyke knows she's contributing to potential change within the community.
"It's a matter of safety, we're not asking for pleasure. We're asking for safety. And, you know, I guess those of us who have signed the petition and who are living here and seeing what's going on, I guess we're doing our part, and if something happens, we know we have done our part," Nordyke said.
In order for Nordyke's petition to possibly become effective, a speed study would have to be conducted, which could take anywhere from a few months to a year or two.
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