Mitigation Measures

As the tunneling approach recommended in the social-impact report was deemed infeasible given the nature of the soils in the study area, the concept of platform decks across the roadway was developed and agreed upon as a mitigation feature. The I-696 mitigation plan included the following:

• Appointment of an Ombudsman for the Planning and Construction Process. To ensure that the community would have a voice in the planning and construction process, a full-time ombudsman from MIDOT was selected to serve as a liaison between the general community, which included residents of all the affected municipalities, and MIDOT. As part of the ombudsman's staff, an advocate specifically for the Orthodox Jewish community and selected by the Orthodox Coalition was hired with project funds to serve as a liaison between the Orthodox Jewish community and MIDOT.
• Staged Construction and Noise Abatement. The community was concerned that construction noise would impact the serenity of worship at synagogues. To mitigate these noise impacts, construction on I-696 was prohibited on weekends and other Jewish holy days. Waivers to this restriction were given by the Orthodox Jewish community via the community liaison working with the ombudsman. The width of the decks, the depressed roadway, and extensive landscaping also helped reduce the community's noise concerns.
• Decks Over the Highway. The creation of decks or pedestrian plazas over the highway was perhaps the most important community-impact mitigation measure. Two decks were built over the depressed freeway in Oak Park to enable fluid pedestrian movement across the freeway to shopping facilities, the Jewish Community Center, schools, and houses of worship. The decks also addressed the strict religious concept whereby an open depression might have been interpreted as a community divider. Pedestrian bridges would neither have addressed the religious boundary concept nor allowed the fluid crossing patterns required by the community. The two decks measure 700 feet and 650 feet in length and fully span the width of the eight lanes of the highway. Parks created on top of the decks add to neighborhood open space and feature recreational equipment, pedestrian/bike paths, and seating areas.
• Pedestrian Circulation During and After Construction. Pedestrian access to synagogues was critical both during and after construction. To ensure that construction inconveniences were minimized, MIDOT, with FHWA funding and oversight, built pedestrian overpasses and facilities before they began all other stages of construction. Flagmen were used to direct pedestrian traffic, and dust control was carefully implemented to minimize soiling of residents en route to synagogue. To ensure that pedestrian circulation was not impeded after construction, the project design incorporated continuous sidewalks along the service roads, within the deck parks, and on other bridges in the area.
• Replacement Housing. The highway necessitated the displacement of 889 persons from 256 families in the project area (not all of these were from the Orthodox Jewish community). Many of those displaced, however, did come from an apartment building in the core of the Orthodox Jewish community, and many elderly residents who walked to area religious facilities were affected. The mitigation for this land acquisition for the roadway was in the form of a 150-unit apartment building for the elderly, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The new Teitel apartment building was built in the Jewish Federation Apartments complex, one block from the original site.

• Ombudsman and Community Liason. A Michigan ombudsman was appointed specifically for the I-696 project, and a community-appointed liaison was hired to work with the obmudsman.
• Staged Construction and Noise Abatement. To reduce noise impact to the community, construction was staged and not allowd on the Sabbath and Jewsih holy days except with permission from the Orthodox community.
• Two Platform Decks. Landscaped decks over the highway allowed for fluid pedestrian access to the neighborhood's five Orthodox synagogues and served to improve the quality of life.
• Pedestrian Circulation. Extensive provisions for pedestrian circulation during and after construction included the construction of continuous sidewalks on the service roads and through the deck parks.
• Replacement Housing.The 150-unit Teitel Building was built in the same neighborhood, with Federal funds, to accomodate primarily elderly Jewish residents who were displaced.

The I-696 project was a divisive event for the Oak Park Orthodox Jewish community. Some residents felt the community should have continued fighting to stop the project; others believed that the completion of I-696 was inevitable and negotiation over mitigation was necessary to avoid being left out of the design process. Some families, fearful that the highway would depress housing values sole their homes and left Oak Park. These divisive effects were short-lived, as families that left the community were rapidly replaced by an influx of younger families seeking housing in affordable areas with good community facilities. As of 1996, community leaders indicated their neighborhood was stronger than it had ever been, and the historic center of the Jewish community remains strong and vital.

Because of the length of planning, design, and construction of the I-696 project and the uncertainties that accompanied it, personal and institutional investment in the community declined. Highway planners referred to this phenomenon as a "shadow of displacement." Once I-696 was completed, the shadow or displacement disappeared quickly after over 30 years of contention and uncertainty. Families that had postponed improvements to their homes during the planning of I-696 began and continued investing in their homes and community without fear of displacement.

According to community leaders, second and third additions to homes are increasingly common, as large Orthodox Jewish families, eager to stay in their neighborhood, have become willing to make investments in their homes over and above the prevailing local market rather than move away to obtain more space.To ensure the vitality of the Jewish community and participation in Jewish schools and synagogues in the Oak Park area, the Jewish community took a proactive approach. In 1985, the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit established the Neighborhood Project, a not-for-profit organization, to offer interest-free loans of up to $7,000 as an incentive to Jewish families to locate within the Oak Park area. Since the program's inception, over 900 families have participated.

As of 1996, the local housing market was stronger than it had ever been, with many homes selling through word of mouth in the Jewish community. Due to the proximity of the neighborhood to major employment centers and the affordability of homes in Oak Park compared with elsewhere in suburban Detroit, Oak Park is generally a real-estate sellers' market.

I-696 did not physically divide the community as many residents had feared; in fact, it has effectively kept Oak Park together. As a symbolic gesture of the overall positive outcome from the innovative process and mitigation plan for I-696, MIDOT held a ribbon tying ceremony (instead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony) to celebrate the official opening of the highway.

The area strengthened as the core of Jewish life in Detroit with the first renovation of the Jewish Community Center, which began only after the completion of I-696. The relocation of a girls' Jewish day school from outside the community into Oak Park and the expansion of a local Jewish middle school reflect the community's renewed investment in Oak Park.

Community leaders say the root of the renewed investment in and strengthening of the Orthodox Jewish community lies in the success of the mitigation, the degree to which I-696 reduced east-west travel times, and the removal of displacement uncertainty. The deck parks have proven to be well received and an important neighborhood amenity. With their walkways, benches, shuffle-board courts, and children's play areas, these parks have become central meeting places for community gatherings, in addition to providing access across the highway.

Pedestrian access to and from synagogues was improved as a result of the project. Before the decks were installed, people traveled to their synagogues on informal paths that were unpaved and unlighted. The network of pathways on and along the I-696 deck parks is paved, lighted, and cleared of snow in the winter; the park benches entice people to stop and chat.

The reduction in travel times played a vital part in strengthening community ties. As a result of the I-696 construction, reduced congestion on local roads had significantly reduced cross-town travel time.

• Clear assessment and understanding of the community and its needs:
  • community cohesion through a sociological study
  • prohibition of construction on weekends and Jewish holy days
  • maintenance of pedestrian access during and after construction
• Willingness of highway officials to meet and work well with key community representatives and leaders.
• Effectiveness of the ombudman and liaison to gather and provide community information for decisionmaking.