The Road More Traveled Regional plans to widen Beck Road meet resistance in Northville Traffic backups are common these days on Beck Road between Six Mile and Eight Mile road. Photo by Bryan Mitchell
T
hey are talking about the same road but two different worlds. North of Eight Mile (or Baseline), Beck Road is a heavily traveled thoroughfare rife with commercial development that is teeming with economic potential. South of Baseline, Beck shifts into a scenic residential stroll with homes and subdivisions lining the two-lane beltway, which runs adjacent to Maybury State Park and features rolling hills. And residents say they want to keep it that way. “Please do not destroy Northville Township’s character,” said Autumn Ridge Drive resident Don Paul, whose letter was read during a Northville Township special meeting Nov. 8 on the proposed widening of Beck Road. Wixom and Novi city officials are lobbying for the 8.1-mile
18 The ‘Ville
stretch to be increased to five lanes. They’ve even adopted a marketing campaign, Beck to the Future, to champion the project, which has yet to be approved for funding and is not slated to begin until 2025 -- at the earliest. A portion of the plan includes widening Beck Road from 11 Mile to Eight Mile in Novi, including a section shared with the city of Northville. Northville Township residents who live along the Beck corridor between Six Mile and Eight Mile appear to favor a less-intrusive option, which would expand the county road to three lanes from its current two. “I understand Wixom has a problem, I understand Novi has a problem,” said Larry Utter, who lives on Beck Road, between Six and Seven Mile. “As far as Northville Township is
By Larry O’Connor concerned, I’m not sure we have a problem.” The proposed road widening speaks to a larger issue for Northville residents, who see the far-off down the road project work as another fight to maintain the area’s bucolic splendor amid rampant growth encroaching from all directions. During the special meeting, they complained about traffic congestion, speeders and constant truck noise on the two-mile stretch of Beck Road, which eventually feeds into M-14 to the south. Jerry Morris, a 47-year resident, described the harrowing left turns he has to make off Beck to reach his Maplebrook home due to impatient motorists flying up on his rear. “They expect us to take that turn on two wheels,” Morris said.
The situation is no less distressing for pedestrians, said Rick O’Donnell, who lives on Curtis Road and likes to take walks with his wife. “We take our lives into our own hands when we step onto Beck Road,” O’Donnell said. The incessant winding noise from semi-trailer diesel engines is also disrupting residents’ lives. Some say truck traffic is heard as early as 3 a.m. “These trucks that ramble down the street are loaded and they are obnoxious,” said Wayne Seiler, who lives on Creekside Court but whose property fronts a portion of Beck Road. “It keeps you awake at night when they’re rambling down 45-50 miles an hour and all. “When talking about widening … you’re putting these speeding trucks closer to the bike paths where our children are.”
