This is just a quick post to provide you with a copy of the Depot Road speed study conducted by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office at the city’s request. The study was distributed to city officials and discussed at the July 24th city council meeting, but the report was not included in the council packet that’s available to the public on the city’s website.
I sent a FOIA request asking for a copy of the July 24th report, and the city responded with a copy of a more up-to-date report that provides speed data through August 3rd, rather than July 24th. Giving credit where credit is due, I note the city responded to my request on time and didn’t charge me for providing this two-page document. I’ve attached a copy of the report here.
The city manager requested this speed study. Families often use the diagonal parking spaces adjacent to Depot Park, and the city manager repeatedly expressed concern a child will dart out from between the cars and won’t be seen by a driver speeding down Depot Road until it’s too late. In addition, people backing out of the parking spaces are more likely to get into an accident with a car coming down the Depot Road hill, especially if their car isn’t equipped with backup cameras or safety alerts because driver visibility is more limited with diagonal parking. At previous city council meetings, Sheriff representatives advised that our visual perception of how fast a specific vehicle is moving is inaccurate as most cars appear to be going faster than they actually are when we observe them from a stationary position. For that reason, it’s always a good thing to collect objective data.
The city manager’s concerns are appropriate, but I want you to see the report for yourself. The sign recorded the speed rate of 47,832 cars driving down Depot Road during the July 11th through August 3rd data collection period. There were 37 violations occurring within that 24-day period (meaning any speed over 25 miles per hour), and only 8 of them happened between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. While the maximum speed for violations is concerning for those few cars (ranging from 37-40 miles per hour), the average speed for all cars was below the 25 mile per hour speed limit during the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. period. It’s clear most people aren’t speeding down Depot Road, and the people that are speeding are usually doing it during hours when there are likely no children playing in the park. I suspect the same data would be generated by any speed study on most residential streets – people usually drive at or below the posted speeds, and there are always a few jack wagons who don’t care how fast they’re driving no matter where they are.
I think it’s important for everyone to see the report, because the issue of what to do with Depot Road has been a topic at recent city council meetings. The city council authorized repaving Depot Road at the August 28th meeting, and there have been additional discussions about whether speed bumps and/or rumble strips should be added to slow the rate of speed. The city manager seems to prefer reducing the speed limit on Depot Road downward from the current 25 miles per hour to address the issue. This is something the city can do on its own without state permission because the city owns the road. I don’t object to this, though we all know you can still hurt a child even if the car is only moving at 15 miles per hour.
But speed limits on Depot Road aren’t the core issue. The problem to be addressed is the diagonal parking, not speeding.
Honcho and The Fed opened in 2016 and 2017, respectively, both knowing full well neither had sufficient patron parking. Robert Esshaki is planning to jam two more restaurants into the old Rudy’s Market and Clarkston News buildings, also knowing he has insufficient parking to accommodate his future patrons. (Esshaki plans to expand the footprint of the restaurant planned for the old Clarkston News building, destroying some of the few parking spaces he owns between the old Clarkston News building and Washington Street.) In addition to hurting the residents, the restaurants have also negatively affected lower volume, non-restaurant businesses whose hours overlap with dinnertime because their customers have nowhere to park.
So why do we have diagonal parking on Depot Road? Because the city converted the parallel spaces we used to have so they could squeeze in 14 more “free” parking spots. This was one of several recommendations from a previous parking committee that was attempting to address the parking problems created after Honcho and The Fed opened. (You can find all the parking committee’s recommendations on page 65 of the 7/24/2017 city council packet.) And as I write this, there is a group composed mostly of restaurant and business owners who’ve told us they are working on a proposal to enter “joint” leases between businesses and the city to provide subsidized “free” parking for the business’ employees so they will have convenient reserved places to park. (In other words, they want taxpayers to pay part of the lease cost for these spaces, something that is clearly prohibited under Michigan law because tax dollars can’t be used for private purposes.)
The obvious conclusion is the restaurant owners simply don’t care about the effect of their businesses on Clarkston residents. We don’t get a “cut” from any restaurant tab. The only direct benefit we get from these businesses comes from the property taxes they pay and paid city parking (to the extent people park in paid lots rather than searching around the city for “free” parking in front of residential homes). I would note the person owning the most restaurants has vociferously and continuously complained about all paid parking, clearly believing the burden for his insufficient patron parking should be borne entirely by city residents. He told us he relied on the availability of “free” residential side street parking when he built his businesses. (See, Parking Still Hot Topic in City, Clarkston News, August 8, 2019, linked here). The city has an ordinance requiring that all businesses pay into a fund for all parking spaces they lack, but the city hasn’t enforced the ordinance, and the mayor has a stated goal of eliminating that requirement entirely. (I guess he’s tired of hearing people reminding him of the favorable treatment the restaurants receive from the city.)
And now we have yet another reason why the plethora of Main Street restaurants are bad for city residents and small business owners. 🤬