Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A large number of residents spoke out about increasing speed concerns in their neighborhood during Tuesday night’s Brighton City Council meeting.

There is currently a 25mph speed limit on Fairway Trails.

Former Mayor, and former longtime City Council and Planning Commission member, Steve Monet was among those voicing concerns during call to the public. He referenced roadwork and stretch from Brighton Lake Road to Lee Road that has around 100 homes, with roughly 50 on Fairway Trails. He said they’ve been experiencing a major uptick in traffic and a significant increase in those speeding along Fairway Trails, which he said has now become known as “Freeway Trails”.

Residents raised concerns about school bus traffic and buses “flying through the neighborhood”, which has become a cut-thru. Residents said it’s not just school buses but habitual speeders traveling 35-40mph with children and pets out in the neighborhood. The increasing popularity and use of E-bikes and scooters was also mentioned.

Resident Kathy Fisher said commented “I’ve lived here for 27 years and since then, the volume and speed of cars and school buses cutting through from one side of Brighton to the other has increased dramatically. With the addition of E-bikes and scooter - plus the blind curves and distracted drivers on our stretch of Fairway Trails - the likelihood of something tragic happening if we do nothing is great”.

Fisher stated some suggestions have included posting high-visibility yellow signs on every speed limit sign from Brighton Lake Road to Lee Road – noting there are 14 places those might be installed - similar to Brighton Lake Road, west of Third Street. She said that combined with the speed signs included in the budget and other measures would “improve safety, quality of life, and peace of mind”.

Brighton Police Chief Brent Pirochta took time to address and said “safety is our absolute, paramount concern” – noting at the last council meeting they budgeted for two speed signs and purchased them, which be part of a solar-powered pilot program. He said residents should start seeing their digital speed signs deployed as early as last night or today to address immediate concerns.

Pirochta said the department also does “directed patrols”. He said “we do proactive selective enforcement on certain roadways based on time allocation. We are very busy, and our officers work very hard, but we can do a little bit more sometimes if they can so we’ll have some directed patrols on Fairway Trails as we move forward”.

Pirochta further expressed that he was a bit hesitant in the beginning to look at solar products because he wasn’t hearing very positive things and wanted to see how they played out in other communities. He noted the new signs they’re purchasing are solar and that’s their pilot program, and they deploy speed signs on a complaint-driven model.

Pirochta stressed his door is always open and closed by saying “thank you for coming here and expressing your concerns before council and myself; you’ve been heard, and your safety is absolutely our paramount concern”.

Photo: Google Street View