SPRINGFIELD TWP, Mich (WXYZ) — Every second counts for firefighters saving lives, and slowing down in an emergency isn't really an option. But that is exactly what is happening to firefighters in Springfield Township.
Watch Ali's report in the video player below
This is something that is driving a lot of people crazy in Springfield Township: the intersection of Dixie Highway and Rattallee Lake Road. A woman named Pattie first brought this to my attention in an email. She said in part, "“There have been numerous times where people going both north and southbound on Dixie Highway do not allow the fire trucks to merge onto Dixie. The fire trucks edge out with their lights and sirens going, and still the people do not slow down, pull over or stop."
Turns out, her husband works for the fire department, so you can only imagine her concern. I decided to look into this, but a solution is not as easy as it sounds.
“It’s actually a nightmare for us to be honest with you," said Springfield Township Fire Chief Matt Covey.
For years now, both the fire chief and assistant fire chief of the Springfield Township Fire Department have been fighting to see change at Dixie Highway and Rattallee Lake Road.
“At this particular intersection, we probably average one to two (crashes) a week," Assistant Fire Chief Matt Strickland told me.
The problem, they say, is drivers flying down Dixie, going over the speed limit, and sometimes on their phones. Also, there are no turn lanes on both Dixie and Rattallee Lake, making it near impossible for fire crews to pull out of Fire Station 2.
Covey said it hinders their ability to save lives.
“It slows us down, you know, seconds count when you are having a heart attack," he said.
They would like to see something change, like some lights or maybe some turn lanes. But a solution is hard to come by.
Craig Bryson is the Senior Communications Manager for the Road Commission for Oakland County. He tells me not only does the data not support putting in a traffic signal, but there are issues with cost.
“It does not meet the state warrants for a traffic signal, either on traffic volume or on crash history," Bryson said. “If we were to signalize it, we would have to put in left turn lanes. That means that we would have to buy additional right-of-way, which would both be expensive and potentially intrusive.”
"Is this something that you're going to revisit, or is it a done deal?" I followed up with.
“No, actually as a matter of fact, we’re going to be initiating an entire corridor safety study of the entire Dixie Highway corridor, to see what improvements, if any, we could make, right now there is not funding to make those improvements, but the first step is to see if there are improvements we could make," Bryson said.
In the meantime, the Fire Chief is asking people to please slow down.
“So even just getting the word out there to slow down, it would be huge, it would be huge to get the word out for sure," Covey said.
