Royal Oak Citizens file suit over sidewalks

A large number of residents of Royal Oak have filed a lawsuit in Oakland County Circuit Court after trying to convince the Mayor and City Commissioners that new sidewalks in the neighborhoods are unneeded and unwanted, that they will not improve safety, and that the Commission does not have the authority to make citizens pay for them.

Many everyday hardworking people have banded together to stop this Commission from ruining our beautiful neighborhoods for an undefined and under-thought-out goal of having a "walkable" city. Mistakenly the Commission has interpreted "walkable" as having sidewalks on every street. Royal Oak feels that we need more concrete (which impacts global warming). In contrast, in many surrounding cities, sidewalks are not required in areas outside of downtown areas where commerce is robust. Others cities pay for public sidewalks, but for years Royal Oak has forced citizens to pay for them.

We are fed up and have been forced to use the legal system at great expense, because this Royal Oak City Commission has failed to support past commissions which gave exemptions and to hear their electorate begging and pleading that new sidewalks in older neighborhoods are a mistake. Because of their inability to define what walkable means and listen to the people who elected them, we feel that now we should review all their decisions. Leaders listen and make good judgments; this group has failed us terribly!

Mike Skinner