Hello, I have spoken to the secretaries at the school about this issue and they stated that the sheriffs and the county are well aware of the problem but offer no solutions. I was told we are not considered a "walking " school so they won't put up a school speed zone to slow drivers down. Cars speed down Joslyn well over the 45 mph speed zone The county won't give us a protected light because we are too close to an intersection. It is so dangerous because you have blind spots when exiting when the cars are backed up from the light at Joslyn & Clarkston. Something has to be done, it is a school not a retail space can't we be given the same consideration? Will it take death or serious injury to a parent or God forbid our children for action to resolve this issue? Safety should be a priority at a public school. I am not done exploring all of our options!

Still no resolution & nothing in the works to fix. What a shame our children are at risk daily! Orion Oaks Elementary deserves better!

No resolution still. Worse now with all the snow & dangerous conditions. What will it take for Oakland county or Orion Twp. to make this a priory..a fatal accident? Getting your children in & out of school should not be a daily hazard!

I am not always able to take a picture of the incidents I witness. This one happened to the two cars behind me this morning heading southbound with a huge horn blast getting my attention. I pulled forward a bit and saw I was going to wait a long while again. So I was able to take a photo out my rear window.

Because we are in a NO FAULT state, and nearly all the problems at Orion Oaks Elementary are limited to slower speed property damage issues, there are few police reports. There are issues inside the parking lot also due to crowded conditions and inability to see traffic coming from the south while trying to exit.

Accident photos from a GORGEOUS day in June 2010

There police were called to this scene. I noted that it was the third accident that school of which I was aware.

From Chuck Keller in November:

Hello Chris:
I was asked to respond to the concerns you received from a parent of the Orion Oaks Elementary School on Joslyn Road.

With regard to the first concern about the passing zones in the vicinity of the school driveway, the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) will be eliminating the northbound and southbound passing zone between the school driveway and Clarkston Road. This work will be done when the roadway is striped at the completion of the resurfacing project next year. We had already planned to do this work.

With regard to the request for a reduced school speed limit, RCOC has discussed this with school district officials in the past. The intent of a reduced school speed limit zone is for locations where students are required to walk adjacent to, or cross a highway. The school district has informed RCOC that bus service is provide for all students attending Orion Oaks Elementary. Posting a reduced school speed limit when there's no students present in the zone providing an obvious reason to the motorists for reducing their speed, breads disrespect for reduced school zone speed limits where they're really needed. Without constant police presence and enforcement, there would be little or no obedience to the reduce speed zone. Furthermore, reducing the speed in a location where it's really not necessary creates two distinct drivers, those who try traveling at the posted speed limit and those who become aggressive and tailgate, pass, and make reckless maneuvers to get around the slower drivers. A review of the past ten years of crash history in the vicinity of the school driveway found no significant pattern of crashes indicating there's a safety issue at the location warranting some sort of action.

Under the current Michigan Vehicle Code, the superintendent of the school district may request a school speed zone from their county road commission. However, in this particular location RCOC would discourage the implementation for the reasons described above. RCOC provides the installation of standard school speed zone signs with time panels at no cost to the school district. If electronic signs with flashers are desired, the school district is required to pay for two-thirds of the installation and all future maintenance costs. A complete installation of two electronic signs with flashers can cost between $35,000 and 50,000 depending on the amount of underground electrical work that is needed to get power to the location of the signs.

Please feel free to share this information with the concerned parent.
Chuck

Charles T. Keller, P.E.
Traffic Engineer
Traffic-Safety Department
Road Commission for Oakland County
2420 Pontiac Lake Road
Waterford, MI 48328
Phone (248) 858-4830
Fax (248) 858-4814
E-mail: ckeller@rcoc.org

*Accident Alert*

Dear Mr. Barnett & Mr. Keller,
That info is helpful but there has to be a real solution. Just had another accident right now in front of Orion Oaks Elementary! I know because I was the parent pulling out of the parking lot just before the parent that crossed Joslyn and hit the fast oncoming car! The cars were smashed up bad, not a fender bender! Signs need to be posted to make drivers slow down & be aware it's a dangerous area! What will get attention, serious injury or death?
Like to also know how many accidents have occurred in front of the school?

From a very concerned parent,
RD Donaghy

Here is the accident this morning 2/12/14
IMG_4115.jpg

Still no improvement, nothing new has been done to even alleviate the dangerous situation. It won't get attention again until there's a bad accident, again. Shameful.