By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 01:40:30 +0000

The “Shoppes at 3600″ (really? That’s not a parody?) traffic flow will just add more chaos to what is already a chaotic traffic flow. Note the driveway that routes traffic most easily out to the Plymouth entrance–where only right turns are allowed. If you’ve never observed that little piece of madness, with cars making illegal left turns across three lanes of oncoming traffic, or just freezing entirely when they realize they can’t turn left, it’s worth a look. But besides that, the multiple streams of traffic from the Holiday Inn/Guy Hollerins, the shopping center, the gas station, and the Green Road driveway often converge in a multiway mess, turning every which way, with cars just guessing when it’s their turn to go. Its really poorly designed, or not-designed, as is; adding yet another source of traffic to that seems like a really poor idea. Planners, seriously, go there around lunchtime and watch how messed up it is.

The sizing of the center itself, and the lot, is also a concern. It’s not like that lot is empty most of the time, and again, the traffic flow is already confusing. This proposal reminds me of the Chalmers Place strip mall at Chalmers and Washtenaw, which is so short of parking that they asked to build another lot on Chalmers.

I understand how difficult it is to build at that intersection, with the highway on one side and the UM property on the other. But shoehorning this in will just compound the situation caused by all the other poor choices in the neighborhood. (Ever try to navigate through the maze of lots around Sweetwater’s/Olga’s/Cooley Law or Cleary/Big Boy/CVS/Red Roof Inn? The whole area is a planning nightmare.)

Really bad idea.

Comments on: Action Postponed on New Retail Development

By: Rod Johnson