'Complete Streets' plan to be featured on local cable stations

An ambitious "Complete Streets" plan that would transform Woodward Avenue into a scenic thoroughfare for shopping, biking, walking as well as accommodating motorized traffic will be shown Wednesday on two local cable providers. The one-hour program can be seen tonight at 8:30 p.m. on Comcast and Wow Channel 18 in Auburn Hills, Berkley, Clawson, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Oakland Township, Pleasant Ridge, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, and Troy. The program will be replayed on Saturday at 7 p.m. A video on-demand will also be available at CMN-TV's website library CMNtv.org. An update on the Complete Streets Master Plan was presented last Friday to 65 people who attended the sold-out Planner's Gatherings hosted by Oakland County's Department of Economic Development & Community Affairs. Huntington Woods Mayor Ronald Gillham and Pleasant Ridge Mayor Kurt Metzger--whose communities are along the Woodward corridor--were among those in attendance. "Woodward Avenue is noted as Highway 1 for a reason," Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. "It's the oldest and one of the most heavily-traveled highways in Michigan. It's exciting to re-launch it with a whole new future." In 2012, the Woodward Avenue Action Association selected Parsons Brinckerhoff to create a master plan for the development of the iconic road from Pontiac to the Detroit River. Community meetings, workshops and walking audits have taken place in the past year in hopes of making Woodward a more viable for businesses. The plan was described as one of the largest projects of its kind in the nation. The gathering came on the heels of the Dec. 4 Oakland County Business Roundtable annual meeting where the economic development committee recommended the county adopt a "coolest corridor" concept for Woodward Avenue to help enhance the economic vitality of the region, reverse the brain drain, highlight the road and better connect local communities. Published: Wed, Dec 11, 2013