A couple of months ago, I posted about West County Park near Dundee.  But I think that one aspect of the park merits another post.  It has to do with the status of the road that leads to the park.

The park is located on Rightmire Road, just to the east of Dundee.  Rightmire is a short gravel road that connects on both ends to the much busier Stowell Road.  It was built kind of like the pit lane on a NASCAR track.  Drivers could turn off of Stowell and follow the River Raisin for a bit and then pop back onto Stowell a bit farther down.

Once the park was established, however, the county placed a barrier about a third of the way down the road.  Automobile traffic can still use most of the road.  However, drivers can no longer use the road as a through-route.

This is a beautiful planning decision for several reasons:

In terms of transportation, there was no real need for a through-route on Rightmire.  Travelers looking to get to Dundee faster would always have been better off taking Stowell.  So, there was no loss in terms of traffic movement.

The area homeowners benefit because they get a less-used road and, presumably, some quieter nights to catch some shut-eye.

Hikers benefit greatly because traffic flows on the road are now pretty much limited to the handful of area homeowners and the small numbers of park visitors.

Closing Rightmire to through traffic has essentially doubled the size of the park for hikers.  It was a great decision.

This kind of planning probably could happen elsewhere in the county and region.  I’d bet that there are other scenic routes that could be limited to local traffic in this way.  It sure is cheaper than building a new paved bike trail in areas with scarce resources.

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