Thousands of residents in northeast Ann Arbor live directly alongside the M-14 and US-23 freeways. We are signing this petition because our neighborhoods have never been formally studied for noise impacts, no barriers have ever been proposed for our corridor, and no one from MDOT has ever asked us anything.

That needs to change.

What MDOT Has Done For Other Communities

MDOT is currently conducting an active noise study on M-14 near Wines Elementary School, funded by a $3 million legislative appropriation under Public Act 121 of 2024. That study may result in sound barriers for those neighborhoods.

MDOT also recently completed a separate study on US-23 south of our corridor. That study identified noise impacts at 24 locations, evaluated 16 potential barriers, and approved 6 for construction. Residents in that corridor were asked to vote on whether barriers should be built. Most voted yes. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027.

What MDOT Has Not Done For Us

The corridor running from the Pontiac Trail overpass on M-14 east to the US-23 interchange, and south along US-23 to the Earhart Road overpass, has never been included in either study. This includes communities on both sides of US-23 north of Earhart Road and along M-14 east of Pontiac Trail.

This is not simply an oversight. The original northern boundary of the US-23 Improvement Study was the M-14/US-23 interchange, which would have placed our neighborhoods inside the study area. That boundary was subsequently revised south to the Earhart Road bridge. The revision was documented in MDOT project materials published in November 2025. No direct notification was sent to residents of the affected communities, and nothing in the public-facing study communications drew attention to the change or its implications for neighborhoods north of Earhart Road.

No noise measurements have ever been taken here. No barriers have been proposed here. Residents were never asked to vote because residents were never studied.

The standard pathway for communities in this situation is MDOT's Type 2 voluntary noise abatement program, which allows residents along existing highways to apply for a noise study and barrier funding. That program is currently suspended due to state budget constraints. Applications are not being accepted. There is no queue to join and no timeline for reinstatement. The only viable path is a direct legislative appropriation, modeled on Public Act 121 of 2024, which is exactly what this petition is asking for.

Who Lives Here

This is not a small or isolated gap. Thousands of households live alongside this corridor on both sides of US-23 north of the Earhart Road overpass, and along M-14 east of the Pontiac Trail overpass. Affected communities include Chapel Hill, North Oaks, Foxfire, Arbor Hills, Barclay Park, Northside Glen, Northside Ridge, Owl Creek, Dhu Varren on the Park, GreenBrier Apartments, Traver Courts Apartments, Ann Arbor Parkview, and residential streets including Frederick Drive and Middleton Drive. The planned Village of Ann Arbor development will add hundreds more residents to this same corridor in the coming years.

The absence of organized advocacy from these communities until now reflects a simple fact: residents were never informed that they had been removed from the study area, and never given the opportunity to respond.

What We Are Asking

1. MDOT should expand the scope of the active M-14 noise study to include the full M-14/US-23 corridor in northeast Ann Arbor before the final report is issued.
2. If scope expansion is not possible, the Michigan Legislature should fund a dedicated noise study and barrier design for this corridor, modeled on the $3 million appropriation that funded the current M-14 study.
3. The City of Ann Arbor should submit a formal written request to MDOT asking for this corridor's inclusion.
4. Washtenaw County, through Commissioner LaBarre and the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study committee, should formally raise this corridor gap as an unmet regional transportation need.

We are not asking for anything that has not already been done for other communities alongside these same highways. We are asking to be studied, measured, and given the same opportunity to vote on noise barriers that our neighbors to the south received.

Sign this petition if you live in or near this corridor, or if you believe all Ann Arbor residents deserve equal consideration from the state agencies that manage the roads running through our neighborhoods.

About This Petition

This is a resident-initiated petition. It is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or authorized by any homeowners association. Email: nea2barriers@gmail.com

Learn more and read the full community briefing: nea2barriers.vercel.app