Township approves 2020 safety path routes

Bloomfield Township trustees on Monday, November 11, approved the township's 2020 safety path routes and engineering work, which is expected to total more than $3.1 million for the fiscal year. Engineering and environmental services director Olivia Olsztyn-Budry said the plans include the design and construction of two significant pathway projects, as well as engineering for a 2021 project and about $100,000 in repair and maintenance work. The first route will is along Club Drive, from Square Lake Road to Forest Lake Country Club, which was added to the safety path master plan approved in 2018 following requests from nearby residents. The path on Club Drive is to serve as a link to the safety path on Square Lake Road and the safety path on Franklin Road. Construction of the path is to be broken into two segments, the first of which will be from Square Lake Road to Forest Lake Country Club and constructed in 2020. The first phase won't impact any wetlands or floodplains and provides for two residential developments to access the path system on Square Lake Road. The path is to be constructed on the north/south leg of Club Drive, just past the entrance to Heron Ridge Subdivision. Budry said the second second segment, from the Forest Lake Country Club to Franklin Road, will have to be further studied to determine how to construct the path in light of an existing floodplain and wetlands, and significant landscaping in the right-of-way. The second segment isn't recommended for construction in 2020. The preliminary cost projection for the 2020 portion of the Club Drive path project is $2,020,000, with $1.7 million for construction and contingencies, and $320,000 for engineering costs. The second project proposed is a pathway along the north side of Maple Road, from Inkster Road to Westmoor Road. The route would provide pedestrian access to Knollwood Pointe and Apple Grove condominium complexes, as well as the Braes of Bloomfield subdivision. "The master plan includes this going all the way to West Surrey Road, which is closer to Telegraph, but the first segment recommended for construction of 2020 is just from Westmoor to Inkster," Budry said. "Just like Club Drive, there is a practical difficulty with this path. There is a significant culvert between Norham and Westmoor. The Road Commission (for Oakland County) will be doing an overlay project on Maple. It's not confirmed that's for 2020 or 2021, but the road project does include replacing the culvert that runs under Maple Road right now... so we could construct a safety path without having to construct a bridge if they can incorporate extending that slightly." The project has an estimated cost of $984,000, with about $800,000 in expected construction and contingency costs and $184,000 in engineering. In addition to the two 2020 projects, Budry said the township will be applying for a Transportation Alternatives Program grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation to help fund a pedestrian crossing at Square Lake Road at Telegraph Road. The cost estimate for the grant application is $29,700, which is included in the current budget. If approved, the project would be included in the 2021 plans; however, engineering costs of about $104,300 would be included in the 2020 plan. In addition to the two construction projects and engineering project for the pedestrian crossing, Budry said about $100,000 in contracted repairs are expected for miscellaneous areas throughout the township in 2020. The total cost for the 2020 program would be about $3.1 million, which includes about $2.5 million for construction and $608,300 in engineering costs. Trustees unanimously approved the 2020 safety path routes and design work.