New Development

The Martin Road southerly extension through the property to M-5 will relieve some of the congestion at M-5 and Pontiac Trail. According to our traffic experts, Metro Transport, approximately 25% (or 8,000 to 10,000 cars per day) of the M-5 traffic will use Martin Road. Martin Road is planned to be a four-lane boulevard, 35 MPH road with two interior roundabouts and a bridge over the wetlands in the center of the project. Haggerty Road currently carries between 35,000 and 40,000 cars daily and suffers from severe traffic congestion. The DDA also plans to widen Haggerty Road to five lanes from Richardson Road and Union Lake Roads southerly to Fourteen Mile and Haggerty Road. Some folks have objected to the widening of Haggerty Road to five lanes and suggest three lanes instead. Both the Road Commission of Oakland County and our traffic consultants, Metro Transport, have said three lanes would be a disaster. For those of you who travel Haggerty Road, I am soliciting your thoughts and your support for the five lane improvements.

A significant number of new jobs will be created by this project. In addition the increase in non-residential tax base will help provide Commerce with a well balanced economic base for employment and tax resource purposes well into the future of the Township. The two buildings pictured in this issue of The Voice located within the DDA area are the new Hammell Music Studio situated at the southeast corner of M-5 and Maple Road and the new Life Time Fitness Center located on Commerce Crossings Road directly across from Costco. These buildings, with their well thought out architectural appeal, will engender the construction of more well designed buildings consistent with the growing trend for a viable economic employment and tax base in our community.

Continuing on with the information about the DDA development at M-5 and Pontiac Trail; our preliminary estimates indicate that as many as 5,000 full time construction jobs (i.e. full time work for one year or 2,000 hours) and as many as 2,700 full time jobs, ongoing yearly jobs, will be created by the DDA development. An estimate of the full economic impact of the development is in process. The DDA has contracted for an environmental analysis of the impact of the development on the surrounding area as well as an analysis of the waters of Glengary Creek which flows:

• from West Bloomfield under Haggerty Road about 1400 feet north of Pontiac Trail into Commerce Township
  
• through a wetland into and through El Dorado and the Links at Pinewood golf courses
  
• through a residential area and under Welch Road through residential areas
  
• through a large wetland and under South Commerce Road just north of Glengary Road
  
• through a wetland and Maple Glen Park under Oakley Park Road and into a canal leading to Commerce Lake and down the Huron River.
  

The DDA has spent a great deal of time and effort to ensure the safety of the ecology of the area of the development and beyond.

It is important that each of you who are interested in the welfare of our community contact the DDA with your thoughts on our future. We have heard from a very small percentage of you and do wish to hear from more residents. Please contact Sandy Hermanoff of our public affairs team at 248.851.3993.

Many times we only hear from those who oppose a particular project. We would like to hear from those who want to improve traffic flow through our community and those who support our efforts to bring a strong economic base and convenient shopping to our community as well.

The silent majority seldom speaks up. This is your community too and your voice should be heard also. We want to hear from you. We are putting a lot of time and effort into this project and would greatly appreciate your support as we work to improve our community.

Most of you are probably not aware that for many years a large portion of the State of Michigan property lying south of Wise Road between Carroll Lake and Union Lake Road was a lake called Pelletier Lake. Mr. Robert H. Long, the longest serving Township Supervisor, told me of hearing the dam burst while he was working on his farm on Commerce Road East of Bogie Lake Road early one afternoon in the late 1940’s. The resulting flood put the Village of Commerce under several feet of water. The new shopping plaza at Commerce and South Commerce Roads would have been completely flooded. For those of you who may be interested portions of the concrete forming the breast of the dam for the once Pelletier Lake can still be seen behind the old Commerce Cemetery on Commerce Road. It can be seen in the photo on the left (outlined in red).