Canton neighbors’ persistence leads to fixing of ‘horrible’ subdivision roads

 Canton neighbors’ persistence leads to fixing of ‘horrible’ subdivision roads

A photo showing the deterioration of Canton’s Swanmere Drive due to concrete impacted by ASR.

When Ann McGowan’s family moved into a home on Canton Township’s Swanmere Drive in 2003, she said the road was “beautiful”.

“I thought, ‘How lucky am I to live here?'” McGowan reflected Wednesday afternoon.

Approximately six or seven year later, however, Swanmere and a few adjoining Sunflower Village roads started deteriorating at a disheartening rate.

Residents of the affected portion of Sunflower Village discovered after painstaking research that the company that developed the property in the early-1990s used road materials infected with ASR (Alkali-Silica Reactivity), which results  in the expansion and cracking of the concrete.

If there was a poster child for ASR-affected roadways, Swanmere would be a perfect candidate.

War zone-caliber roadways

“Swanmere is so messed up now,” McGowan said, “it’s almost like they dropped these beautiful houses into a war zone.

Swanmere Drive became a nightmare to drive on
Swanmere Drive became a nightmare to drive on PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANN MCGOWAN

“Last year, a Realtor told me that prospective home buyers wouldn’t even look at homes on Swanmere because of the condition of the street.

“When we held a graduation party for my daughter a few years ago, instead of celebratory conversation, our guests talked about how bad our roads were.”

By 2012, McGowan and a group of like-minded neighbors couldn’t take the condition of their road anymore, so they turned to governmental representatives in search of an answer about how to fix the streets.

“We literally reached a point where we were going to try a Special Assessment District, which would have required all of the residents who were impacted by the ASR to pay $8,000 to fix the roads ourselves,” McGowan said. “By the time we got the voting done and everything, the price had gone up to $12,000 per household, so it failed due to the rising cost.”

On a mission

Led by Bob Parker, who lived on Swanmere before ultimately moving to another section of Sunflower, the neighbors reached out to Wayne County and Canton Township leaders in search of an answer to their war-torn-like road issue.

“We got a hold of the Attorney General’s Office, we talked to senators, representatives, Wayne County leaders, Canton Township officials, but we didn’t get any answers,” McGowan said.

“The county and township officials would point the finger at each other and say there was nothing they could do due to lack of resources.”

The sun is finally setting on the horrible driving conditions on Swanmere
The sun is finally setting on the horrible driving conditions on Swanmere

Finally, after over a decade of trying to find a solution, the neighbors connected with Canton Township Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak and State Representative Runjeev Puri, who managed to help secure state funding to fix Canton Township streets affected by ASR.

The rehabilitation of Swanmere and other torn up streets in Sunflower is expected to start later this month with a projected completion date of November.

“To me, after all we’ve gone through, this is like a miracle,” McGowan said. “This is huge. Somebody finally listened to us.”

Diligence pays off

Melissa Lichtman, the current president of the Sunflower Village Homeowners Association, gave huge props to Parker.

“A lot of people were diligent in making sure this happened, but Bob is the hero,” Lichtman noted. “From what I understand, he rarely missed a board of trustees meeting over the past several years. He never gave up. He’s been dogged in getting these roads fixed.”

McGowan said the road was in such disrepair, driving on it was like skiing around moguls (potholes and massive cracks).

“It was becoming a safety issue, too,” Lichtman added. “Pieces of concrete would shoot up into yards and on the sidewalk when cars drove on it.”

McGowan said some type of party will be forthcoming once the roads are smooth again, hopefully by the end of November.

And while the conversation at that party will focus on the roads, it will be with a celebratory tone.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.

Ed Wright

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