Community: City of Rochester Hills
Population: 10,000+
Rochester Hills recently completed a comprehensive renewal of neighborhood first settled in the early 1820’s. The “Brooklands” is an area with a storied history that’s was overdue for improvement and beautification. After decades of discussion, deliberate planning took place, and the transformation of the Brooklands’ primary thoroughfare, Auburn Road, began in 2019. Auburn Road is an aged commercial roadway, surrounded by single-family homes. The project sought to transform the corridor into a safe and attractive place for vehicles and pedestrians with the goal of creating a more walkable environment, encourage (re)development opportunities, increase parking, incorporate art and landscaping, and develop public open space to create a desirable district. This project has served as a catalyst for community redevelopment, igniting investment and a true entrepreneurial ecosystem for businesses. The end result is a safer, more connected and walkable corridor that supports economic development, spurs people to engage and renews community pride.
Replicability:
Outdated, unsafe commercial corridors with haphazard access like Auburn Road are only too common across the state.
The key to replicating a project like this is being intentional about securing stakeholder input from the onset and keeping them engaged and informed. The City wanted to take the future of this corridor into its own hands and began with a simple corridor study that involved various stakeholders, most notably representatives of the residential neighborhood and business community as well as City Council representation to determine how best to enhance the area in the best interest of all involved. Including these key stakeholders from the beginning of this planning effort proved extremely beneficial as the project evolved from a road reconstruction project to a truly transformative placemaking initiative which has proven to help reinforce the sense of community in the Brooklands neighborhood. It became crystal clear early on that taking over jurisdiction of the road from MDOT would be the easiest way for the City achieve its goals and help ensure the long term success of the corridor.
Creativity and Originality:
The City approached this project with an open mind as to how to improve safety and infuse investment to develop a one of a kind district in the long forgotten Brookland neighborhood.
Led with Safety and Operational Innovation
Innovation led the charge when looking at the functional safety and operational improvements to the roadways itself, and no option was left uninvestigated. The use of medians, roundabouts, curb bumpouts, landscaping, and unique signage.
Created a Distinct Place
Art features were incorporated to both calm traffic and to create a distinct place. Emmons Plaza was uniquely designed to include the City’s first splash pad with colorful design elements to be a draw for neighborhood children. Additionally, artistic gateway centerpieces were installed to signify the Brooklands new unifying identity. Interspersed along the roadway median, sculptural threads identifying street names invoke the hills, creeks, and rivers which weave together the greater Rochester Hills community. Each roundabout tells a story, weaving natural forms and contemporary materials to create emblematic representations of this neighborhood’s history and future endeavors.
Designed an Interconnected Streetscape
As a whole, the streetscape design speaks to the interconnectivity that binds a neighborhood and its constituents. It respects the past, but looks to the future. It is inventive but logical, new yet familiar. It is innovative by nature.
Perhaps the most creative element of the corridor is captured in the street art that is installed at 25 locations, on Auburn Road itself. A collaboration with the local schools, the City worked with the local art agency to develop a student art contest depicting “What community means to me.” With nearly 500 student submissions, first a jury, then the general public, narrowed down the submittals to the final 25 winners who had their creations enlarged to 7 foot diameter circles that are oriented towards the pathways up and down the half mile corridor.
Community Impact:
Streets like Auburn Road often act as elements of division – inhospitable to neighborhood pedestrians in favor of overwhelming vehicular traffic. Streets like Auburn Road were laid out during the auto boom of yesteryear – built by prioritizing speed and ease of transport rather than the local quality of life. Streets like Auburn Road must be updated to become more modern and culture driven – to become a device for connectivity within the neighborhood, rather than a thoroughfare that divides.
With a technologically forward-thinking approach and a heavy emphasis on remaining “Innovative by Nature”, the revamped Auburn Road corridor sets an admirable new precedent for the future of neighborhood development within the region by taking a multifaceted approach to transportation, access and design.
Pedestrians Welcome and Traffic Calmed
By focusing on a pedestrian centric ideology that utilizes boulevard‐style drive lanes and on‐street parking, traffic is inherently contained and calmed, making the corridor safer to those on foot and in cars.
Intentionally Green
Highlighted by integrated green infrastructure elements and repetitive, patterned landscaping, this half mile corridor maintains an inviting identity with sustainable and aesthetic interests.
Incorporated Features that Build Community
The crown jewel of the corridor is the Emmons Plaza located within the newly closed section of Emmons Avenue. This new space designated for community events, public gatherings, family picnics, or lazy afternoons is a one‐of‐a‐kind neighborhood feature with points of interest for everyone – including the City’s first splash pad.
Impact: Improvements Realized | Investors Taking Note | Property Values Rising
These improvements have resulted in a noticeable difference in activity along the corridor. People are out walking their dogs and riding their bikes. Business owners have commented on how many people they’ve met since the project has been completed, even though they’ve been in operation for over a decade. Residents feel safer letting their kids walk to the nearby middle school or to Brain Freeze, the neighborhood ice cream shop.
The positive impacts are also financially tangible as investment continues in the Brooklands. A number of property owners have invested in facelifts to their properties, and the City has approved a 3 story, mixed use building, the first new development in the corridor in years. And the investment doesn’t stop along the corridor, the neighborhoods surrounding the corridor are seeing an 8% annual increase in property values and have experienced an increase in almost 40% more than the city as a whole in the last two years.
