The City’s annual concrete repair program will begins this week (the week of June 5). Hartwell Cement, the City’s contractor, will start in the northwest quadrant of the City and move south. This year we are doing street repairs and replacing deficient sidewalk flags. Every 4-5 years we evalute all of our sidewalks and identify sidewalk flags that meet our criteria for replacement, which are as follows:

• Raised or heaved sidewalk: 3/4″ or more at a joint or crack
• Cracks: One crack at 1/2″ or greater width, or 2 or more cracks
• Cross slope: 3/4″ per foot
• Spoiled/Spalled: 25% or more
• Dip: Judgement generally, but replace if water collects

Driveway Access. Some residents may lose driveway access if sidewalks will be replaced through the drive, or if street repairs are being completed directly in front of a driveway. The City contractor will provide advance notice to any homeowner who will lose access to their driveway at least a day in advance. Project Funding. All work is completed at public cost. Most Cities directly bill homeowners for the cost of sidewalk repairs in front of their house. Here, we pay for ongoing street and sidewalk repair program is provided through the infrastructure millage and State Act 51 road funding. This is partly because some streets had their entire sidewalk replaced at public cost when the street was replaced, while other streets did not.

Please refer to the following maps for locations where street and sidewalk repairs will be made.

We have received a few reports of coyote sightings in the City. We have been in contact with Oakland County Animal Control and the DNR. Coyotes are highly adaptable and are found in every county in Michigan. 

For more information about Coyotes refer to the following resources from the DNR and Oakland County. You can also call the DNR at 517-284-9453.

• DNR Coyote Information Page
• DNR Coyote SMART brochure
• Oakland County Coyote Fact Sheet
• Humane Society Coyote Information

Coyotes generally weigh between 20 and 40 pounds, and look like a small German shepherd, but with relatively longer legs. Given their size, Coyotes are usually timid in the presence of humans. Coyotes are common in urban areas, and Coyote pairs hold territories of about 2-5 square miles in urban areas, so Pleasant Ridge will only be a part of the range of any coyotes spotted here. Given their adaptable nature and ther large range it is not possible for us to prevent or eliminate coyotes from the City. New coyotes will show up to take over the territory of a killed or removed coyote pair, and coyote killing programs have proven ineffective in elminating them from urban areas. Managing coyotes by preventing them from becoming habituated to humans is the best way to handle these animals, which are a natural part of the landscape.

Coyotes almost never pose a threat to humans and most household pets. They are opportunistic omnivores that feed on small mammals such as rats, rabbits, cats, and some small dogs, but also will supplement their diet with food waste in garbage. To deter coyotes, keep all garbage in sealed containers, and consider removing bird feeders which attract not only birds, but small mammals and rodents which are coyote food sources. 

Do not feed coyotes, and do not approach them. Feeding coyotes will habituate them to humans and will reduce their natural shyness around people. Research indicates that most coyote-human incidents are caused by coyotes that have been fed or habituated to humans, altering the coyote’s natural behavior.

If you see a coyote you can usually scare it off by “hazing” it: yelling, clapping, or making other loud noises, or by throwing any kind of projectile such as sticks or small rocks at it. If coyotes are present, please consider monitoring small dogs when they are outside.

Our wellness center re-opening continues to be dependent upon the Governor’s order, and the resolution of the issues in the Courts. Our wellness center will open when permitted by the Governor.

You can review our operating plan for the wellness center at the following link:

Wellness Center Re-Opening Plan

The City of Pleasant Ridge City Commission and Police issued the following statement at the June 9 meeting:

The Pleasant Ridge City Commission and Police condemn the senseless and heartbreaking killing of George Floyd. This and other related incidents have sparked an unprecedented call for reform across the nation to address systemic bias and racism. The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others are a testament to the distance we still must travel in our efforts to break down bias. We take this opportunity to honor these lost lives, and to express our continued commitment to provide exemplary law enforcement, free of racial bias and ready to meet the moment.

Pleasant Ridge has always placed a high importance on our police department. In turn, our police have long been accountable, fair, and capable in the discharge of their duties. The actions documented on video in the George Floyd incident have not, are not, and will not be taught, endorsed, or tolerated by the Pleasant Ridge police. Our police policies are regularly updated to ensure that our officers demonstrate the highest professionalism.  In keeping with modern practices, our police wear body cameras and all interactions with the public are recorded. Our use of force policy requires de-escalation of force consistent with the level of resistance from the subject. Medical treatment must be offered whenever a subject requests or complains of injury or pain, or when the officer believes the subject to be injured. All use of force incidents require a formal report and a review by the Chief of Police.

While we are confident in our training and policies, the Pleasant Ridge police have used this incident as a moment to reflect upon how we can be better tomorrow than we were today. We are reviewing our policies and will add language to explicitly prohibit the use of outdated control techniques. We will increase the number of classes that officers must take on de-escalation, proper restraint and hold techniques, implicit bias, cultural competency, and communication techniques as part of our regular training work. We will also work to make our commitment to fair, capable and accountable community policing visible to our residents, our neighboring communities, and to the people who travel through our city. Finally, we will review our hiring practices to ensure that we are compliant with best practices to screen out bad apples so that they cannot be hired in Pleasant Ridge.

In short, it is not acceptable to us that anyone experience discrimination or oppression in Pleasant Ridge. We, as a City, and as a country must work with honest intent to remove these inequities so that everyone, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, or sexual orientation have the freedom to pursue happiness equally and without bias. We celebrate diversity and are committed to support and participate in the fight to eliminate systemic bias against African Americans and all minority ethnic groups.

– Pleasant Ridge City Commission and Police

The City of Pleasant Ridge is cancelling all recreation programs, events, and activities through Labor Day. This decision was difficult. We do not know how long it will be necessary to observe social distancing, but it is very likely to through the summer and fall of this year as we work to keep the curve flat and prevent future waves of COVID-19. We don’t have perfect foresight but proceeding with our summer activities and programs could have far greater consequences than cancelling too soon. With those considerations, the City Commission and staff feel that it is best to err on the side of caution to protect the public health, safety and welfare. Specifically:

• The Memorial Day ceremony is cancelled.

• The pool will not open this year. The executive order closing places of public accommodation extends beyond the pool’s scheduled May 22 opening date. The American Red Cross is not offering lifeguard training, and we have not been able to staff the pool with lifeguards. Even if we could train staff for a later opening, it is unlikely that pool staff and users could maintain proper social distancing. The swim team season is also cancelled.

• The wellness center will remain closed pursuant to the Governor’s executive order. We will re-open this facility when gyms and fitness centers are permitted to re-open by the Governor.

• Summer camp is cancelled for 2020. We cannot expect children to maintain the social distancing requirements for summer camp, and we could only accommodate a fraction of the normal number of attendees because of distancing requirements in the building. Our normal field trip activities are questionable, and many will be cancelled. Parents, we know that this is a loss for you, and your kids.

• Summer activities and recreation events are cancelled, including the ice cream social, adult volleyball league, summer camp-out, and swim lessons.

• 50+ Club events and trips are cancelled until further notice.

• The community garage sale is tentatively rescheduled to August 8, although this is likely to change.

• The Home and Garden Tour is cancelled.

• The Historical Museum is closed until further notice.

We have consulted with Oakland County and our neighboring communities, and all are making similar decisions to close pools, recreation facilities, summer events, and summer camps. All nearby public pools will be closed this year.

We know that the pool, summer camp, recreation programs, and community events are integral to the close-knit social fabric of our community. They are part of what makes Pleasant Ridge a unique and friendly place to live. We know that keeping the pool closed and cancelling our programs and events this summer will be a loss, but we trust that the Pleasant Ridge community will understand the need to take these actions to protect the health and well-being of our residents and the public at large.

The Recreation department will continue to work on ways of offering virtual recreation programming through Facebook at (facebook.com/pleasantridgerec). Future updates on our virtual recreation offerings will be shared there. Please email Recreation Director Shawnie Stamper at sstamper@cityofpleasantridge.org with any recreation questions.

The City will share our re-opening plans with the community in the coming weeks as things take shape. To stay up to date visit www.cityofpleasantridge.org and click on the “Covid-19 Information” link on the homepage.

MDOT will be starting work on intersection and pedestrian safety improvements on the eastbound I-696 service drive at Woodward and Main Street on Tuesday, July 30.

The project includes milling and resurfacing the road surface, and changes in the lane configuration on the Service Drive. Specifically, the right-most lane is being eliminated for a portion of this road segment, and the pedestrian crossing on Main Street across the Service Drive is being reconfigured and will be much shorter.

There will be lane closures on the Service Drive and Woodward during this process. Drivers are advised to pay attention to the portable message signs on each roadway advising of the changes, and to expect delays during this project.

For more information about the project, refer to the MDOT website at this link and the .pdf file attached below.

Click Here to view the results of the recreational marihuana establishment survey.

East side residents may have noticed pink paint dots on sidewalks. These relate to an upcoming sidewalk maintenance project slated for 2019. The City Engineer has been surveying sidewalks on the east side to identify defective flags that will be replaced by the City at public cost.

Defective sidewalk flags on the west side are planned to be replaced in 2020.

Our intent is to work with the contractor to extend the bid pricing and accept additional work at the homeowner’s cost if a resident wants to replace additional sidewalk flags. If the contractor is willing to extend their bid pricing for additional work we will notify residents in the spring of 2019.

More information about this project is available on the Maintenance and Improvement Projects page (accessible on the navigation menu under the “Community” tab), and also on the Public Works page (accessible on the navigation menu under the “Departments” tab).