Construction on Woodward Avenue in Oakland County begins Monday
FERNDALE, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) -- After years of discussions, a new Monday morning commute is coming for a two-mile stretch between Eight Mile Road and Interstate 696. The changes aim to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
In her three years of living in Ferndale, Zoë Bakker relies on her bike.
"It's pretty easy to get around. I hate to pay for parking, so I usually never drive downtown," Bakker said.
Bakker avoids Woodward Avenue, the main artery that cuts through town whenever possible.
"I'll walk on the street next to Woodward and maybe cross Woodward right now because traffic is so fast like the visibility is so poor I really only go on Woodward when I have to," Bakker said.
Those safety concerns will finally see a solution in the form of 'Woodward Moves.'
A joint project from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the cities of Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge includes repaving and other maintenance work on Woodward Avenue from Eight Mile Road to I-696.
But the most significant change will transform one traffic lane in each direction on Woodward into a protected bike lane.
"We shifted the park lanes outward as part of the replacement in addition of the cycle tracks, and the parked vehicles do protect that layer of buffer," Ferndale City Manager Joseph Gacioch told CBS Detroit.
The project will be done in two phases.
The first begins at 7 a.m. on Monday and is expected to wrap up by early December. The second phase, which includes the bike lanes, will start in the Spring.
"Pretty much every day I ride my bike down Woodward, somebody's blaring their horn at me, yelling me to get off the road," said Jon Hughes, owner of the Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop.
He believes the narrow road will make it safer for pedestrians, perhaps attracting more visitors to the area.
"It's going to allow people to see all the businesses that are up and down Woodward instead of whipping by at 50 miles an hour, they will be driving at 35 miles an hour," Hughes said.
The Detroit Cookie Company shop at Woodward Avenue and West Woodland Street has dealt with the challenges of constant construction over the last year and has mixed feelings over this road diet.
"It sounds great. But how many bikes are really driving on Woodward Monday through Friday compared to cars? You know, they're saying that the roads don't see that much traffic, but I guess time will tell," Tony Sevy, general manager of Detroit Cookie Co., told CBS Detroit.