City Council has voted in favor of a "road diet" on Nine Mile. The plan is to repurpose one lane each way on the current five-lane road. Afterwards, the road will be three lanes: one lane each direction and one center left-turn lane. This plan aims to revitalize a small portion of Nine Mile for mixed use businesses that are more accessible to everyone in a much safer way.

There have been few but loud members of the community that have come out strongly against the proposal before learning much about the the full scope of the plan. Misinformation is now threatening to delay a positive change for our City. We need your help to share facts! Signing this petition will be one step in the right direction, and will tell our City Council people that Eastpointe residents and visitors want safer streets with diverse shops and housing options.

Decades worth of traffic studies have been done and they agree with the recent local studies that were conducted beginning in 2021 when this proposal was first on a City Council agenda. These studies show that in a majority of cases the amount of time it takes to travel barely changes, the line up of vehicles at intersections barely changes, and although there are some instances where traffic will slow, there are many where the flow of traffic could actually improve. Only during a couple peak times each day will cars queue up and not flow at optimal speeds, even though the efficiency that all people can travel would increase. The local studies are based on the current volume of vehicles traveling Nine Mile, and there is a lot of evidence that the traffic whose only interest is speeding though on their way elsewhere will decrease ("induced demand"). This means that the peak times would improve for all of the Eastpointe residents who rely on Nine Mile to safety get to and from their homes and local shops.

Public safety will not be hindered for the reasons stated in the traffic study. All residents are rightfully concerned about public safety, but this project will not cause public safety issues, it will lessen them. Our local chiefs only spoke of a potential increased response time to only a fraction of the City, not the overall safety of residents and visitors that a better designed street would provide. We drive this street daily and we know that it is not safe as it is designed or maintained. If non-emergency vehicles are able to travel more safely and efficiently, emergency vehicles will be able to as well.

"Road diets" have occurred around the globe, in the United States, and throughout Metro Detroit. We have the data: These projects have resulted in positive economic conditions by spurring business success. The streets have become more walk-able with slower cars and more trees. Fewer cars driving slower does not mean less business. It means a more accessible, safe, and inviting street for everyone. With a road diet comes less T-bone style car accidents, less side swipes, and less pedestrian injuries and deaths. Calmer traffic means a safer experience for the very people patronizing businesses.

What has been done on Nine Mile for decades has been expensive for the tax payers, dangerous for the people using it, and generally a poor representation of what a city street in a family town could be. Nine Mile could be better, and this is likely our only chance for decades to come.