In response to concerns raised by the Ann Arbor Muslim
community, Mayor John Hieftje announced yesterday that the city
administration has decided to further analyze and study the traffic
at the intersection of Plymouth and Beale roads, the site where two
students were killed in November.

The decision was met with disapproval by many Muslim community
leaders, who have been lobbying for a traffic light at the
intersection near the Islamic Center since 1988.

They recently intensified their efforts after Engineering
students Teh Nannie Roshema Roslan and Norhananim Zainol were
killed at the intersection last month while they were crossing the
road.

“There was an expectation that there would be an action
item on our agenda tonight addressing the issue of a traffic light
at the Plymouth Road intersection,” Hieftje said at the
beginning of last night’s City Council meeting.

He added that the city administration feels the need to do some
more traffic studies to assess the site’s situation
accurately.

Associate City Administrator Ronald Olson was also present at
the meeting and explained that there were technical difficulties
with the study that was performed Nov. 17, which prompted a
decision to conduct more studies.

“We found, the better part of the 10 days, that the
counters did not work because of the cold weather,” Olson
said.

He added that the cars traveling on Plymouth and Beale had to be
counted using a machine.

“We need to get professional consultations to make
recommendations to pedestrians and students about how to deal with
the traffic,” Olson said.

He said the contract with the consulting firm will be finalized
at the end of this week and that results of the report can be
expected to come out at the end of January.

The city administration staff will release its recommendations
by Feb. 17.

“I think what the mayor has proposed is inadequate,”
said Nazih Hassan, president of the Muslim Community Association of
Ann Arbor, reacting to Hieftje’s announcement about another
analysis.

“A study with an open-ended scope (like this one) will not
lead to anything tangible,” Hassan said. He estimated that
nearly 200 people attended last night’s meeting and when he
asked those in the room who supported the traffic light to stand,
about 30 people stood up.

In response to the community’s concerns, Hieftje said that
the city is very concerned with the issue.

“We are very, very sincere when addressing this issue and
we will continue our accelerated efforts to ensure safety,”
Hieftje said.

While Hassan differentiated between the responses of City
Council and the city administration staff, he said he believes both
are unconcerned about the intersection.

“I honestly don’t think City Council sees a problem
despite their pronouncements,” he said.

In meetings after the deaths of the two students, Hassan said
city administration officials said the issue of a traffic light at
the Plymouth Road intersection is different from other situations
in that a traffic analysis was not needed to assess the
situation.

“When they speak and represent, there should be
consistency … the city staff should have been more
forthcoming,” Hassan said.

He said yesterday was the first time he heard about the manual
traffic counts. He added that the study tested only the hours
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., which do not include the peak times of
traffic near the center.

“We had about 600 to 700 people turning into the Islamic
Center for the Taraweeh prayer in Ramadan during the span between
seven to eight o’clock, and no counts were recorded for this
time,” Hassan said.

Hassan and others are also dissatisfied with the new proposed
study. In the traffic analysis report, the area to be studied in
the new report is referred to as “the Plymouth
corridor” and it is not clear which parts of the road will be
examined.

According to Hassan, the proposed analysis would be inaccurate
because it would study the entire stretch of Plymouth Road rather
than just the Beale and Plymouth intersection, which is the only
area that has elicited complaints from residents and students.

Other leaders from the Muslim community also spoke during the
public commentary section of the meeting in response to the city
administration’s decision.

Ghanim Aljuimaily was one of four Muslim community leaders who
reviewed the videotape of the accident with Police Chief Daniel
Oates.

“There is one number that should loom larger than the
traffic numbers and that is the number three, for the three people
who lost their lives at the intersection,” she said.