1/24/24 Woodward Talk

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JANUARY 24, 2024 Vol. 21, No. 2

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Cities reduce number of voting precincts BY MIKE KOURY mkoury@candgnews.com

The project from the Michigan Department of Transportation along Woodward Avenue between Eight Mile Road and Interstate 696 has included bike lanes in the right lane of both northbound and southbound Woodward, sidewalk upgrades, drainage improvements, resurfacing and signal work.

OAKLAND COUNTY — Some cities in the Woodward Talk’s coverage area have decreased their number of polling precincts. New state legislation increased the maximum number of registered voters that a precinct can contain from 2,999 to 4,999. This has led the cities of Berkley and Huntington Woods to lower their total number of precincts. Huntington Woods went from five precincts to four. The city previously operated each precinct at 1,100 voters. City Clerk Heidi Barckholtz said the city could have reduced the number of precincts by two, but the city wanted to make sure that it would maintain the shortest lines possible for voting days. “What we didn’t want to do, especially for this election cycle, is have lines,” she said. “Huntington Woods voters are not accustomed to any kind of line, really — maybe a few minutes. We want to see how early voting goes, and then in 2025, we’ll likely go down another one.” Barckholtz said that while the city will be observing lines in upcoming elections, officials will also take into consideration how many people use absentee ballots when determining whether to consolidate more precincts. “The permanent AV and the permanent ballot list … I have about 3,200 people on that list, meaning we send them a ballot. So of my 5,600 (registered voters), 3,200 are already voting absentee,” she said. “Even if we went down to three (precincts), you would never be waiting in line for I would say an hour because we just have so many people that vote absentee. … I definitely see us being fine with four. I don’t foresee that

See WOODWARD on page 13A

See PRECINCTS on page 12A

The city of Ferndale was having issues with motorists parking in the new bike lane on the updated Woodward Avenue streetscape, and recently the city has been issuing tickets to anyone not parked correctly on the road. These vehicles have parked correctly along Woodward without blocking the bike lane. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes

Ferndale seeks to address parking issues on new Woodward Avenue FERNDALE — The majority of the Woodward Avenue streetscape project has been completed since the fall, but some incomplete elements have led to parking issues on the street.

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BY MIKE KOURY

mkoury@candgnews.com


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