Adams Road and Gunn Road Intersection to Become four-way Stop

Adams Road and Gunn Road Intersection in Oakland Township to Become four-way Stop on July 27

The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) will improve the safety of the Adams/Gunn Road intersection in Oakland Township by making it a four-way stop on Wednesday, July 27.

New Four-Way Stop in Oakland Township

New Four-Way Stop in Oakland Township

The intersection currently has stop signs at the Gunn Road approaches to the Adams Road. The following will be added to the intersection:

  • Installation of new stop signs on Adams Road
  • Sign flashers that will warn motorists of the new 4-way stop
  • Stop Ahead signs installed on Adams and Gunn road intersection approaches

The intersection currently carries approximately 14,000 vehicles daily.

The RCOC has studied the intersection and determined the new signs are warranted based on the Michigan Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MMUTCD) which is a state manual that establishes standards for all traffic control devices installed on roads throughout Michigan.

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Comments

  1. Why would a red-yellow -green signal not be an option, similar to Rochester Rd and Snell?

  2. That is an option, and is being considered for the future. However, installing a signal or other configuration is much more expensive than adding a four-way stop, and funding must be identified for additional work. The four-way stop is an interim step.

    • Anthony Kinkle says

      I’ll just say I wouldn’t want to be the one answering all the angry phone call on this. You have to know they are coming. Today is day one and it took my wife 7 min just to go from Kroger to the intersection. You know traffic is much higher on Adams so this plan seems more like a band aid then a true fix. We appreciate the commission trying to keep people safe but sensible fixes would be appreciated.

    • Come on RCOC, use some common sense. I totally agree the intersection is a pain point and needs a light or roundabout, but using a 4 way stop as an interim step? Unbelieveable. Thankfully I have a different route I can take home. Sorry to all the commuters that have no choice but to sit in this unnecessary traffic jam.

  3. Preston Zale says

    Backed up for a mile and a 10 minute wait today 7/28.

  4. Lisa brooks says

    A four wsy stop is horrible idea. I came thru today and it took me 25 min to get from silverbell to gunn rd. It would have been more efficient to have stop light there to better flow traffic. I already see accidents happen because alot of people cant figure out whos first or whos turn to go. I wont be a driver of adams road for that reason alone. I thought m-24 was worse not even clise to this bad idea. Thanks for hearing me. Lisa brooks

  5. Marie szymanski says

    This is an absolute nightmare. Why no blinking light that only triggers the 4 way stop on school mornings/afternoons? PLEASE reconsider, as this is not sustainable.

  6. Rod Johnson says

    Nice, now my commute is much longer.

  7. Angry Motorist says

    This is an awful idea. How about spending the money paving and widening that part of the road so there is a left turn lane.

  8. Bad, bad, bad idea. Please take them out. You are just getting angry frustrated drivers now. It’s bad enough we have all the construction to avoid, now this.

  9. What rocket scientists came up with this fix? They must not use Adams road. Adams going north was backed up past silver bell at 4:30 on7/28. This will push more traffic on kern road and just create other dangerous situation for those residents. The four way stop needs to be removed and have someone with some common sense review this.

  10. Frustrated Traveler says

    Poor “interim fix”. Surely RCOC must remember the traffic flow problem 15 years ago when there was only a 4-way stop at Adams and Orion. Traveling North on Adams back then was very difficult. (And that was before Delta Kelly exisited or the large sub behind it!) Please reconsider, especially before school season starts (and buildout for a proposed large subdivision across from Delta Kelly begins!) That intersection will be a virtual nightmare in the morning hours in September, backed up for miles in all directions. To whom can I be directed to have someone immediately assess traffic flow patterns and correct this issue created by the RCOC? Oakland Twp offices? State police?

    • James Probst says

      In my opinion this is simply a measure to slow traffic down. The issue of safety only arises during school pick up and delivery. So many parents drive their children that it creates a bottleneck. The busses enter and exit off Adams. It’s the cars that must take Gunn. The Cars are causing the problem. In so far as the new subdivision. Absolutely no new sun should be approved until the infrastructure is in place. I dread the accidents during the winter on those hills!

  11. Who’s completely stupid idea was this you’ve gotten nearly a 3 mile back up every day going in both directions and gunn Road is clear every single time this was the stupidest idea For anyone to ever come up with.

  12. The Road Commission for Oakland County would like to share the following points about this situation:

    – The four-way stop was installed as an interim measure to address a serious crash issue.
    – We don’t install four-way stops lightly, and we avoid them when possible. However, we were seeing too many serious-injury crashes as this intersection.
    – When we have to choose between mobility (the potential for traffic delays) and safety, safety always wins.
    – The four-way stop is an interim action as we move toward a permanent fix for the intersection. We are also already working toward a permanent solution.
    – However, a permanent fix (either a traffic signal or a roundabout), will likely cost approximately $2 million, and we need to identify funding.
    – We cannot simply drop a traffic signal on the existing intersection. We would need to first add turn lanes, which means widening and reconstructing the intersection, and improve sight distance by reducing a hill. Both of those (widening and the hill cut) require that we purchase additional land adjacent to the road, which is both a costly and time-consuming process.
    – We have already purchased an entire home at the intersection because we will need the real-estate as part of the permanent solution.
    – Based on the trend of the recent past, if we did not install the four-way stop, there would likely have been numerous additional serious-injury crashes at the intersection before we can complete the permanent solution. There were seven injury crashes at the intersection in the year leading up to the installation of the four-way stop. If that trend continued, and we believe it would, we could see 14 more injury crashes at the intersection in the two years before a permanent solution is likely to be constructed.
    – The four-way stop and any other actions we take are and must be done in accordance with both state and federal rules and regulations. These rules set very specific conditions that must be met for the installation of stop signs, traffic signals, etc.
    – Road Commission

    • What were the dates of the accidents, are they tied to the duration they have had M24 under construction? This needs to be addressed very quickly, it would not be a pretty sight if emergency vehicles had to get through that intersection at the moment, you had created a bigger and more dangerous issue from what you started with.

    • I witnessed a serious crash a year or two ago at this location where a work van ended up overturned in the ditch at the Southeast corner of the intersection. The cause of the accident…a man in a sedan going West on Gunn blew through the stop sign (that was already there) and hit the van. Also, he was in the school zone with the yellow lights flashing. He was going a lot faster than 35mph when he hit that van hard enough to flip it over. I’m fairly confident a 4-way stop wouldn’t have helped that situation.

    • You might think that your decision is sound but many drivers and myself who travel Adams and Gunn every day think that this decision is totally flawed. I don’t believe that many accidents exist at this intersection as you stated (I am sure that you have the data.). This decision will create more accidents due to rear collisions along Adams. This solution is equivalent to what is done in OHIO where they hire many Civil Engineers from Ohio State. You guys need to re-think this decision before someone get killed.

    • mike maruska says

      2 million is peanuts on the billion dollar mile …..ask the builders to pay for it….they made a killing. You should have done that prior them being allowed to build. Your bad.

  13. How about you post a sign nest to the stop signs on Gunn Road telling the drivers not to pull out into the intersection unless there are no cars coming in the opposite direction. I know this should be common sense, but obviously it isn’t.

    Anyone that drove this route before they put a light at Adams & Orion Road will have to deal with the 10 to 20 minute commutes like they did back in those days.

  14. This has added twenty more minutes on my already hour daily commute. This was the worse solution and I am disappointed in the people thought it was the best idea. Furious.

  15. Rod Johnson says

    You realize this affects the people on the Paint Creek Trail also right? There needs to be a light. I think we should blare our horns so the residents complain more.

  16. So 14000 cars per day.I would bet you did this study whIle the abortion on Lappeer road is going on. I am absolutely amazed at the level of intelligence it took to come up with this idea. Exactly how many times did you bump your head. There should be a law prohibiting you from destroying so many roads at the same time.

  17. Cannot believe that anyone could be so stupid to think that this was a good idea
    Common sense is not very common at the ocrc

  18. Awful, awful, decision. I can’t figure out the thought process that lead to the conclusion that adding a 4-way stop was a good idea. We’ve all experienced added traffic lights necessitated by changing traffic patterns, but I, for one, have never seen a stop sign placed on a main road as a “interim” solution. Obviously, the people who decided this do not drive on Adams roads.

  19. Paul Jones says

    This is ridiculous – it is backing up traffic for miles – I wait 10 minutes only to find nobody trying to cross the road! This is just stupid! Wait until school starts up and there is even more traffic – This was not well thought out. Leave it alone until you have a real solution in place!!!

  20. mike maruska says

    ” new signs are warranted based on the Michigan Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MMUTCD) which is a state manual that …..”.So some college kid read a manual and now the traffic caused backups are polluting the air we breath with fumes , costing hundreds of hours of lost productivity…..burning gasoline while waiting…..yea! we need more government !!!!!!!

  21. Now you have traffic lined up from Gunn road all the way to Silverbell and people hanging out into traffic at The Silverbell intersection because there is no room for anyone to go, brilliant ideas folks. If someone ends up dead over this I hope somebody sues big time.

  22. Be sure to visit the social media pages and leave feedback.

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  23. Ridiculous! Now traffic is backed up from Orion to Gunn in the morning rush, and Silverbell to Gunn in the evening rush. The worst idea ever since Lapeer and Adams are under construction at the same time!

  24. I have driven the north / south Adams route for years. The accidents I encountered (a couple) were due to the Gunn road traffic not stopping. Because of this 4-way stop I now have an additional10 to 15 minute commute each way. There is very little options for alternate travel. This is being described as temporary until future changes can be constructed – two years is not temporary. Just wait until school starts in September, the back up will be even greater. And can you imagine what it will be like in the winter – try stop and go traffic up a snow and ice covered hill on Adams Rd. This is only going to get worse. Bad idea, bad solution.

  25. The county will not do anything to ease the congestion. They will just fall back on the safety first
    . I for one would like to see the traffic study and all ot the accident reports that they used to render this four way stop. The intersection at dutton and bald mountain is far more dangerous. But there has not been as many accidents. Because of a few bad drivers the rest of us will just suffer and deal with that temporary two year fix what a joke. Remove the stop signs on Adams and install more flashing red lights on gunn

  26. I will no longer be commuting using this route. All this is doing is forcing people to take other routes causing congestion and issues to other roads which in turn will cost $$$. Do it right or not at all…

  27. This is garbage. ALL, Start sending letters to both Oakland County Road commission and Oakland Township. If they get enough complaints, they will have to start taking their job and their decisions however moronic they are more seriously.

    I agree sfaty first but why is the public paying for lack of planning by the road commission?

  28. Randall B. says

    The fact that you stated this is an interim step shows more wasted money. So now taxpayers have to pay more money when you fix it right. I’m sorry but Gunn Rd. traffic is minimal compared to Adams at rush hour. Do me a favor and just go there on a week day afternoon around 4:30pm and sit and watch the hell you created with this idea. I couldn’t get across SilverBell after the light changed because it was backed up so bad. In the winter it will be worse. How many re-evaluations will you need to convince you to change it when you find this solution unsafe.? Do a study on that.\

    • Randall B. says

      You spoke of roundabouts. That irony of that is if you were really concerned about safety first you would never add anymore roundabouts. I know for a fact these cause more accidents than other measures. Doesn’t stop you from doing it though does it? Add a light soon.

      • Logical_Thinker says

        Roundabouts are actually very effective when people use them in the right way. They are commonly used across Europe and studies conducted there on them have shown an accident reduction rate of nearly 25%. I drive through some roundabouts daily and some people here just don’t know how to drive in them.

        The real problem is the inconstancy in the way Traffic management is done between the counties. For example in Oakland, they have intersections with blinking yellow left turn lanes and then it changes to red-then after it goes through the cross traffic cycle it changes to Green–Talk about a huge SAFETY ISSUE. In Macomb (done in the right way) the left turn lights blink yellow and then change to Green, this is how it should be.

        In both Counties in some places they have round about, BIG, small, medium (Very confusing) then in Auburn hills they came up with the bright idea of a diamond shape interchange at University and 75, this swings traffic in exactly how you would imagine it, diamond shape form, bring traffic on the right side to the left side going across 75. How this is optimized I have no clue.

        So when we consider accidents, traffic studies and safety the County of Oakland and Macomb should think about they chaos they create when they implement these different methods of traffic management. It is also why I laugh when I hear them talk about safety as a reason to put this 4 way stop into place. What is funny about this, is they had plenty of years to perform traffic studies and get the funding for improving this intersection, now they have to implement this Ridiculous solution to save face.

  29. Oakland Township Resident says

    The only thing that makes logical sense about this issue is that the road commissioner for Oakland county must live off Gunn rd. Absolutely rediculous. Please remove the sign and fix the issue CORRECTLY.

  30. It takes me well over 45 minutes to get to work from Adams and Tienken to Oxford. I can’t get to M-24 from Silverbell, and Silverbell cars cannot even turn onto Adams. Now everybody knows the Kern cut. I’m trapped in my own neighborhood due to the construction at Avon and Rochester, silverbell and 24, Rochester Rd everywhere., Adams and Hamlin/59. The traffic detours make the Livernois traffic circles (both) impossible. Everyone is looking for a detour. The timing for this is just poorly thought out. This has to be fixed. A timed light would work better than a four way stop.

  31. It takes me well over 45 minutes to get to work from Adams and Tienken to Oxford. I can’t get to M-24 from Silverbell, and Silverbell cars cannot even turn onto Adams. Now everybody knows the Kern cut. I’m trapped in my own neighborhood due to the construction at Avon and Rochester, silverbell and 24, Rochester Rd everywhere., Adams and Hamlin/59. The traffic detours make the Livernois traffic circles (both) impossible. Everyone is looking for a detour. The timing for this is just poorly thought out. This has to be fixed. A timed light would work better than a four way stop.

  32. I just drive through again, why not lower the speed limit to 35 through there and cut down the brush that obstructs the view? Why are we always catering to the few? The heavy traffic on Adams has to suffer for the few on Gunn that can’t seem to turn onto a busy road.

  33. Barbara Pilarski says

    This 4-way stop makes no sense. There is a disproportionate amount of traffic traveling North/South to warrant having a 4-way stop for each of the 4 directions. It is also very dangerous. Despite the signage, people coming from the North (like myself) are not expecting to have to stop. I already blew through the 4-way stop once and I am afraid that others may have done (or will do) the same thing. Your objective to implement a temporary solution to save some money is likely to have unintended consequences. The only time I have ever seen any significant traffic coming off of Gunn Road is at the start/end of the school day when parents/teachers/students are arriving/leaving the school grounds. Implementing an approach which has the North/South traffic stop 24/7 is definitely overkill.

  34. Yvonne Bosch says

    We can not believe you put in a 4-way stop at Gunn Road. Ridiculous! We are just trying to get home from a hard day at work and now it’s added an extra 15-20 minutes to our 35 minute commute. Such a shame and it’s so aggravating! Now we use the dirt road Kern to Gunn, and since there is a NEW 4-way stop, we are able to make our left without waiting for too long. EXCEPT that people don’t know how to behave at a 4-way stop. No one takes their proper turn (RIGHT of way, people)…Put in a round-about and do it quickly!! Not 2 years from now! Do it before winter because this is ridiculous!

    Also, put in a round-about at Stony Creek and Rochester Road, especially now that there is so many more houses going up in the area and so much more traffic.

  35. It’s funny that when I’m going north on Adams at 4pm it takes 5-10 minutes to get thru the 4 way stop on Gunn Rd only 1-2 cars?

    I can’t wait for winter, heading south and trying to the 4 way up the hill!

  36. Oxford to Rocester says

    WHY…WHY…WHY…WHY…WHY…?

    OCRC; ask yourself that Question. We have to ask ourselves “Why” 5x in our industry anytime someone reports a Quality Issue and did you really Use “LESSONS LEARNED”..? Totally get Safety; if all the Facts have been presented properly, but you also have to look at the “Root Cause” and I bet it’s due to other drivers simply not doing their job properly. Too many people do not know how to look at data properly and truly wonder how the data was presented or did someone just learn how to use PowerPoint? What will be your suggestion this Winter with so many people that travel the North/South bound Adams Road and creating a traffic backup situation on a hill that will become an ice rink in the winter and then people will attempt to travel up to only get stopped 3/4 or 1/2 up and then come back down sliding in to other cars. Now there is another Safety Concern. That’s just one situation that all of us are also worried about besides the havoc the Traffic is creating in the area…And this is a low time of the year due to School being out. Just wait until the Summer is over and traffic is in full force; the traffic will be backed up from that intersection and beyond Silver Bell Rd to Dutton Rd in the evening…YOU KNOW IT WILL HAPPEN!

    Thank you for making my travel on Oakland County Roads that much more enjoyable now…and also increasing my “Carbon Footprint” as I along with others waste Gas sitting in line at a 4-Way Stop.

  37. Kevin Bolte says

    FIX THIS!!! I just waited through a line of 10 cars to get through stop sign. Is this the best you can come up with?

  38. You think it is bad now? OCRC plans to fix it once it finds the funds. This means MORE road work. For our sanity, please add a LIGHT and not a round about (AKA wheel of death). Ever try to pull out down the road from a round a bout? Good luck, they produces a steady stream of cars and no gaps to enter traffic. What happens when traffic is heavy and they stop in the circle? No one can go. Emergency vehicle, good luck. In short, hope they find some $$ soon and get the mess over with sooner

    • Rodney Gullett says

      If you know how to drive properly roundabouts work well.

    • Rodney Gullett says

      OC, wouldn’t it be a good idea to stop issuing permits for builders until you get your infrastructure in line with current needs? You can’t even meet what is needed today, let alone as it all expands.
      Millions pouring in from new subs with houses above half a million and still you complain about money OCRC? You’re kidding right? I know you only get the gas tax, blah, blah and not property taxes. I guess the entire state is mismanaged from A to Z. Where is all of our money going? OCRC you can’t even manage to do a decent job of grading the gravel roads. We are all so tired of hearing about your budget. Let me explain mine. Can I get a break on gas taxes and property taxes since life is so expensive? Or how about a fee you pay me to pay for my car repairs on your horrid roads and gas and my time wasted at poorly planned 4 way stops?

      I cannot believe the level of incompetence and poor decision making at all levels.

      Also, not sure why parents have to add to the unneeded traffic by driving their kids to school. Is there no bus? Ridiculous.

  39. You can’t tell me that a traffic light at that intersection costs more than the gas and time that has already been wasted in just the past few weeks alone. Fix the problem! How about using some judgment rather than relying on a ## manual to make decisions. I ‘ll bet that the person that made the decision on this doesn’t drive this route and would not make the same decision on any route that they would drive.

  40. Seriously, this solution is not working. Have you thought about how backed up it is going to get once school starts? What about the winter – you can’t have people backed up on that hill when the road turns to ice (the number of accidents will increase)? This is not my job – someone needs to get it together and do what they are paid to do. Now.

  41. This is terrible.

  42. NorthRochesterTraveler says

    It does not take 45 minutes to travel from Oxford to Rochester, more like 20. Plus if you were traveling this way wouldn’t you take Orion rd anyways. People are just frustrated because they want to go 50-55 in a 45, and truth is there is a school to consider. Gunn and Adams is dangerous, and is only increasing in danger the more fancy subdivisions get thrown up around there. Yes 95% of these people living in north Rochester are making 6 figures, but seriously people, yall are stupid for your critisism. Honestly although a 4 way stop isn’t the right way of doing things, I think that people are being way to harsh about this issue, just let the RCOC figure out a better solution and shut up!

    • sally o'meara says

      Lapeer Road is under construction (in case you hadn’t noticed) so Orion Road- Adams-Rochester is the best way for me to get from Oxford to OU. Congratulations on ruining my commute. The new 4-way stop does make a 30-minute drive AT LEAST 45 minutes now that I have to wait behind 45 cars at the the corner of Adams and Gunn, at the site of the county’s worst-placed stop sign.

    • Rodney Gullett says

      Or take your own advice and shut up. What have you added here? Not even a real name? Trolling?

  43. What a nightmare! It now takes an additional 15 min to commute home from already an hour drive. The traffic East bound Gunn Rd is now increased due to people trying to avoid this intersection on Adams Rd. Now that school is in session its is a joke trying to get out of our sub off Adams Road, the backup is from this stop sign all the way north as the eye can see North of Orion Road. People are so frustrated that they are not letting my son’s bus pull out on Adams road……..For those to agree we need to contact the road commission ASAP

  44. That stop sign adds 15-20 minutes to a daily commute and backs up traffic to Orion one way and to silverbell the other way. I’m not really sure how that safer. It makes it harder for people in neighborhoods and the strip mall to turn onto Adams. I take measures to avoid this area around rush hour. Whoever thought this out obviously didn’t do a very good job. I recommend everyone call and complain. There are other options that can replace the current stop sign. Overall, the move just showcases idiotic planning.

  45. On the morning of Thursday (September 8th) traffic was back up for at least a quarter mile on SE Orion road, north of Adams. I figured it was for an accident or something. But no, it was that this 4 way stop had backed up Adams so badly that the right hand turn lane on Orion couldn’t go anywhere and spilled onto the rest of Orion causing it to back up. I sat for 8 minutes before I got to the 4 way stop and there is one car in line on Gunn road. You can’t fix stupid, I don’t have the crash data, but I never have had an issue (safety) pulling off Gunn onto Adams, right or left, you just have to be patient and you may have to wait a few minutes if you have to pull across. But with that said it’s not 8 minutes and it”s for the vast minority of the total traffic there. I second someone above that said the driver of this issue must have been that someone more important than us lives on Gunn, because this just caters to Gunn road traffic and makes Adam’s ridiculous.

  46. sally o'meara says

    Congratulations on turning a simple intersection into a mile-long nightmare for commuters taking Adams Road. Lapeer Road is under awful construction, and Adams WAS a good alternative- UNTIL the 4-way stop sign went up. Traffic back-ups for almost a mile at rush hour are common, and school hasn’t even started yet! I sat for 15 minutes trying to drive home from OU to Oxford. This stop sign is cheaper than a light but NOT WORTH IT!! 50 cars lined up on Adams to make room for 2 cars on Gunn? NO! This is just ridiculous. Just when I thought Lapeer Road was bad enough, this made it infinitely worse. FAIL!!!!

  47. Steven Jones says

    I just found out that the bridge is open at Romeo Plank and 32 Mile Rd. The you screw it all up by adding the 4 way stop at Gunn and Adams Rd. Thanks alot OCRC, you just ruined my day.

  48. This is the worst mistake I have seen in 40 years living in the area. Hope this gets fixed soon. Now traffic is terrible.

  49. OCRC
    Have you done any studies after you made this a 4 way stop?

    At 6:30am going south it is backed up 1/4 mile at 6:45am over 1/2mile. No one is on Gunn Rd! This is going up the hill, in winter everyone will be sliding and not moving. OCRC does not salt!

    At 4pm go north 1/2 mile and No one is on Gunn Rd. and at 5pm it is backed up to Silver Bell.

    Who ever made this decision should be driving it.

    OCRC please response

  50. OCRC
    What is being done please update us

  51. This is a nightmare that will become deadly this winter. It’s difficult to make it up that hill in snow and ice with momentum. With it backed up, like it now is daily, it’s going to be one big wreck of cars sliding into each other.

  52. W.B.Sterritt says

    re-frickin’ ridiculous!! Oakland County can afford to fix this correctly. Add a little more money and include a sensing device to a traffic light!

  53. Sightlines from either side of Gunn Road North and South along Adams Road are excellent for stop signs for those entering Adams from either side of Gunn Road. Hang a light over the intersection with red towards both sides on Gunn and yellow for both sides on Adams. Several lifetimes of human time have been lost already to this 4-way stop in addition to thousands of gallons of fuel. When is the County Road Commission job again on the ballot?

  54. This is legitimately the worst 4 way stop I’ve ever seen. “Interim step” is a cop out, especially now that we’re coming up on nearly 2 years. Put in a roundabout or yellow flash on Avon and red flash on Gunn…worst case a full light at least. Common sense fixes please, not the cheapest option with the least amount of critical thinking required.

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