A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
2
August 3, 2017
P
LYMOUTH
- C
ANTON
School board members choose officers
Annual collection of school supplies now under way
The recent announcement
that the Michigan Department
of Transportation (MDOT) will
be moving forward with the
installation of a four-way traffic
signal and widening of the
McClumpha and Ann Arbor
Road intersection was the
sound of success for Plymouth
Township Supervisor Kurt
Heise.
Heise, a former state repre-
sentative, worked with the
Michigan Department of
Transportation (MDOT) for
more than two years to facili-
tate the installation of the traf-
fic signal and reconfiguration of
the intersection. Last week,
State Reps. Jeff Noble of
Plymouth and Laura Cox of
Livonia announced that $1 mil-
lion in funding has been desig-
nated to reconfigure the inter-
section. According to the
announcement, there have
been 36 total accidents at the
intersection between 2012 and
2016.
Twenty-three of these acci-
dents were T-bone or head-on
collisions, according to the
release and some caused seri-
ous injuries. The intersection
prompted numerous com-
plaints from area residents,
claiming that the situation was
a threat to public safety. The T-
shaped intersection has no turn
lanes, creating safety concerns.
“As citizen complaints sky-
rocketed through the roof,”
Heise said, “I kept the pressure
on. However, this is a team
effort, and its more complex
that just a traffic light issue.”
The issue is exacerbated dur-
ing hours when traffic is travel-
ing to or from the three high
schools at the Plymouth-Canton
Educational Park nearby
wheremore than 6,000 students
attend classes.
Heise saidhe pushedhis col-
leagues in the State House for
approval of a traffic study in the
area. He added that he was
concerned about what many
perceived as a serious danger
in the neighborhood, which is
also his neighborhood. He said
records show speeding over the
45 mph limit is often common-
place.
In November 2015, his
efforts paid off andMDOT com-
missioned the Wayne County
Road Commission to conduct a
study of the traffic at the inter-
section. In early 2016 the proj-
ect received a final go-ahead.
Having the engineering data
from the joint Wayne Country-
MDOT sponsored study, Heise
was told to be patient and that
the estimated $300,000 funds
would not be available until
2020.
After his successful bid to
become township supervisor,
Heise continued his quest for
the roadproject.
In February 2017, at his urg-
ing, members of the Plymouth
Township Board of Trustees
approved a resolution urging
the state to expedite the
improvements to the intersec-
tion.
Heise said he is gratified
that the project is moving for-
ward and that the state will pay
for the entire $1 million esti-
mated cost of the traffic signal
and reconfiguration of the
intersection.
He said he sent copies of the
township resolution to State
Rep. Jeff Noble, MDOT
Director Kirk Steudle, Sen.
Patrick Colbeck, Rep. Kristy
Pagen and to Cox, the current
Chair
of
the
House
Appropriations Committee,
reminding them of how serious
a public safety threat the inter-
section is and the efforts at the
township level to solve the
problem.
Plymouth Township Police
Chief Tom Tiderington agreed
that the intersection was a
knowndanger.
“It's been a dangerous inter-
section for a long time and a lot
of drivers, especially those who
are inexperienced like high
school students, had difficulty
maneuvering through the inter-
section,” Tiderington said.
“This is a teameffort. MDOT
will have to rework the inter-
section. It will require left-turn
lanes, deceleration lanes, new
curbs and widening. It's a seri-
ous issue,”Heise said.
“This is great news.”
Members of the Plymouth-
Canton Community Schools
Board of Education have select-
ed new officers for the year.
Terms will continue through
June 30, 2018.
Board members unanimously
choseKateBorninski, amember
of the board since 2014, as the
new president. She has also
served as secretary of the board.
Nominated by her predeces-
sor Kim Crouch, Borninski was
the sole nominee and elected on
a 6-0 vote. Trustee Patrick
Kehoe was absent from the
meeting.
She told her fellow board
members that she appreciated
their confidence in her and said
that she looked forward to con-
tinuing the good work done by
the previous board andCrouch.
The new vice president of the
board will be Crouch, nominat-
ed by Trustee Doug Brooks. She
has been a board member since
2013. Patti McCoin was nominat-
ed for the office of secretary by
Trustee Anupam Chugh Sishu,
who had declined the nomina-
tion for herself suggested by
Brooks. McCoin has been a
boardmember since 2016.
Kehoe was nominated in
absentia for treasurer by
McCoin. Kehoe has been a
board member since August of
2016.
The votes for all the nomi-
neeswereunanimous, 6-0 votes.
In other business, the board
members approved district
bylaws and approved a schedule
of upcoming boardmeetings.
Plymouth Community United
Way is gearing up for the annual
school supply drive.
Last year the organization
filled 120 backpacks with 7,172
various school supplies. The
bags were distributed to
Plymouth, Canton, and western
Wayne students in need of the
proper tools to help increase their
ability to achieve their education-
al potential. Without the basic
tools of pens, pencils, crayons,
rulers, and paper, students will
not have success in the classroom
environment, a spokesman said.
The drive will run continue
through Aug. 12, in an effort to get
the backpacks filled and distrib-
uted by the start of the school
year. Plymouth 1-800- Self-Storage
has signed on to be a secondary
drop point for new school sup-
plies. Donations can be dropped
off at the 42360 Ann Arbor Road,
Plymouth location during busi-
ness hours. Donations will also be
collected at the Plymouth
Community United Way office
from 7:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Thursday and
from 7:45 a.m. until 2:45 p.m.
Fridays.
For more information, visit
Don Howard
Staff Writer
New traffic signal gets state green light
