The final test project on Woodward Heights is a speed hump, located at Bermuda (south) by the Heights Market. This location was chosen as it is a gateway entrance into the City. The speed hump will slow down traffic entering the City.

The City Commission will be considering whether to make this speed hump permanent at their September 8 meeting. In the meantime, we will be measuring traffic speeds at various distances from the hump to see how it influences traffic speeds.

If you have ever wanted a speed hump on your street, this is an excellent opportunity to go out and see, hear, and feel what is is like to live next to a speed hump. While it does limit traffic speed, there are noise impacts from these. As such, we will be surveying the residents who live within 300 feet of the test speed hump to obtain their thoughts.

You may have noticed the new street signs at Cambridge and Woodward. These are a new style of sign that we will be installing as needed in the City. The first batch of these signs are being installed at intersections along Woodward. Following is further information about the new signs:

• We are moving away from the old black and gold signs for a few reasons: 1) they do not meet MMUTCD standards for legibility, 2) the font is too narrow and is not visible at night and 3) the new signs are much more legible and reflective, making them much more readable.
• The black and white color scheme was chosen for visibility and legibility, to meet MMUTCD standards, and also to be consistent with Pleasant Ridge’s past street sign appearance. The black and white color scheme matches the signs that we had before the black and gold signs and is also much more legible. We are keeping the attractive design of the black and gold signs, and we matched the font on the black and gold signs while making the lettering wider and thicker.
• We are replacing the signs at Woodward intersections during this first phase. The reason for this is because the decorative black and gold signs that were first installed along Woodward about 15 years ago, and the black and gold signs are now very worn, as you can see in the photos below.
• The black and gold signs are very expensive – about $800 each. The new black and white signs are about $125 each, reducing our cost to replace and maintain the signs as needed. We have about 100 street signs in the City, so the cost difference between the two signs is significant. Just replacing the signs along Woodward would cost $22,400 for the black and gold style, vs. $3,500 for the black and white style.
• Over time we will replace the black and gold signs in town as they wear out. Most of the signs at intersections away from Woodward are in good shape and have a years of life left in them. Of course, if resident sentiment is strongly in favor of changing to the new black and white style, it is cost effective for us to do so and we are happy to hear your input on this.
• Will you have the chance to bid on one of the old black and gold signs at a future PR Foundation auction? Not this year, but quite possibly in the future.

Finally – what is MMUTCD? It’s the Michigan Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which is a thick set of standards for everything about signs and traffic control.

We need your input!

Pleasant Ridge and Ferndale have partnered on a safety audit of Woodward. This is part of our ongoing efforts to improve the walking and biking experience along our stretch of Woodward from 8 mile to 696.

The study will assess current conditions, engage the community, and provide detailed design recommendations walking and biking along and across Woodward safer and more enjoyable. Toole Design, an international sustainable transportation design firm, is leading the study. Primary funding is provided by a $40,000 SEMCOG grant.

You can get involved in this process in the following ways:

• Complete this community survey.
• Mark your calendar for 6pm-8pm on Thursday, April 18 for a walking audit of Woodward led by Toole Design. We will walk a portion of the route and assess current conditions. Meet at the northwest corner of 9 and Woodward in front of the Rust Belt Market. RSVP at this link (available Thursday, March 28).
• Keep up to date at the project website – more details and materials will be posted as the project progresses.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Ferndale Planning Manager Justin Lyons at jlyons@ferndalemi.gov or Pleasant Ridge City Manager Jim Breuckman at citymanager@cityofpleasantridge.org.

Have an opinion or an observation about the stop for pedestrian signs on Ridge at Oakland Park? Then please share them with us by completing a short survey at this link.

We will consider making the pedestrian signs permanent in the spring based on our observations of the test and your input.

The survey will remain open until Wednesday, October 3.