White Lake: Sign of the times

A Bogie Lake Road speed limit sign in White Lake Township with a complex times has caught international media attention. The Oakland Press reports that it “irks drivers.”

Carol Burkard, a White Lake Township Trustee, said she is confined to a wheelchair because of a car accident in 2003.

“I was the clerk of the township and had to have my leg amputated because somebody was not paying attention to the road,” she said.

“When I saw this ridiculous sign, I thought, the sign doesn’t make sense. It’s an endangerment.”

Yes, it’s a silly sign.

But what perhaps is more revealing, if not more disturbing, is the apparent lack of concern for local kids walking and biking safely to school.

According to the most recent Google Map aerials, there are no sidewalks along either side of Bogie Lake Road near the three schools. The north school entrance has a traffic signal with no crosswalks or walk/don’t walk signals. The east entrance has a crosswalk that does not meet ADA requirements and has no sidewalk connection to the schools or neighborhoods.

Sign from Oakland Press; Map from Google Maps

If you look at the aerials, you can see the well-worn walking paths through the grass that students take from their neighborhood to school.

So while the Road Commission for Oakland County has replaced the speed limit sign with something simpler, as far as we can tell, the kids unsafe and inconvenient walking routes remain.

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2 Responses to “White Lake: Sign of the times”

  1. Fabian Lanzy Says:

    I live in Waterford, this part of Oakland County could definitely use some consciousness raising in biking and pedestrian issues. Perhaps a site along Bogie road in White Lake would be a good place to stage a Critical Mass ride- if there were enough like minded cyclists out this way.

  2. Eric Says:

    Oakland County Townships, School Districts and the Road Commission are absolutely pathetic when it comes to sidewalks and safe routes to school. It’s not that complicated to find out where kids are walking/biking and provide adequate services for them. If I was a parent in the area, I would be outraged that there is not a safe, logical route to the school given its proximity.

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