Sometime in November, the Village of Beverly Hills Council will receive the final report of its Beverly–Southfield Road Intersection Study. That study covers the corner where the Southfield Road shopping strip begins and where Riverside Drive joins in a layout that survey respondents called confusing. The study took most of 2026. It drew 719 survey responses and an open house that more than 100 people attended in July, and it produced four drawings.
The Village maintains Beverly Road. The Road Commission for Oakland County maintains Southfield Road. The county already has construction on Southfield between 13 Mile and 14 Mile on its schedule for 2029. So the November report is the Village's design case for one corner of a county-maintained road whose construction year is already set.
The Faster Road, by the Village's Own Count, Is Beverly
Ask almost anyone about this corner and they'll start with Southfield Road. The open-house boards the Village posted in July explain why. Southfield carries far more traffic than Beverly. But the speed data points the other way.
| Southfield Road | Beverly Road | |
|---|---|---|
| Maintained by | Road Commission for Oakland County | Village of Beverly Hills |
| Classification | Principal arterial | Local east of Southfield, major collector west |
| Average daily traffic | 16,299 southbound, 12,992 northbound | 3,037 eastbound, 1,732 westbound |
| Posted limit | 45 mph | 25 mph |
| Measured 85th-percentile speed | 46 mph southbound, 45 mph northbound | 31 mph each direction |
Southfield carries about six times as many cars as Beverly. Even so, Southfield's measured 85th-percentile speeds of 45 to 46 mph sit at or one mile over its 45 mph limit. Beverly Road's 85th-percentile speed of 31 mph is six over its 25 mph limit. Survey respondents still named speeding on Southfield as a top concern. Both things can be true. A 45 mph arterial can feel dangerous next to sidewalks even when drivers obey the limit. This also explains why every design the Village drew changes the corner's layout and none just lowers a number on a sign.
What 719 Respondents Said About the Corner
The online survey ran from January 30 to March 6, 2026, and asked 14 questions. They covered how often people pass through the intersection, whether they walk, bike or ride transit, and what concerns them most. Of the 719 respondents, 48.5% said they'd be interested in a public meeting.
The Village's summary sorted the answers into four themes:
- Signals and operations: trouble making left turns from every direction, requests for protected left-turn arrows, and changes to signal timing.
- Traffic calming and speed: red-light running, speeding on Southfield, a lower limit of 30 to 35 mph, and more enforcement.
- Pedestrians and bicycles: child safety, better crosswalks with longer crossing times, flashing pedestrian signals, sidewalk repairs, and bike accommodations.
- Redesigning the layout: the "confusing and overly complex" Riverside Drive leg, lane reductions on Southfield, and fewer points where vehicles cross paths.
The sharpest split was over roundabouts. In the survey, 60.2% supported adding a roundabout or traffic circle to slow traffic and reduce severe crashes, and 39.8% opposed one. Opponents cited pedestrian and child safety, unfamiliarity with roundabouts, and bad experiences with them elsewhere. Only 15.7% supported adding medians or a boulevard on Southfield.
Four Drawings, and Riverside Drive Runs Through Three of Them
The concepts shown at the July 14 open house were:
- Narrow the existing intersection.
- Narrow the intersection and turn Riverside Drive into a cul-de-sac.
- Replace the signal with a roundabout and turn Riverside Drive into a cul-de-sac.
- Build a five-leg roundabout that keeps Riverside Drive connected.
Three of the four options deal with Riverside Drive. Two close it off at the intersection, and the five-leg roundabout gives it a place in the circle. Only the first option leaves the five-way layout essentially as it is. Survey respondents named Riverside Drive as a source of confusion, and the drawings show the Village took that seriously.
The roundabout question goes back years. Village Council minutes from November 6, 2024, included in the packet for the November 19 meeting, say a study was first presented to Council in 2022 and not funded then. When staff proposed applying for a grant in 2024, the application described a study of whether the corner could work as a modern roundabout. During that discussion, some council members argued that framing it that way would favor one answer before the work began. Others said pedestrian safety had to come first, and one member said a roundabout would likely calm speeding. Staff agreed to frame the application around reconfiguring the intersection, and the discussion shifted toward hiring an independent firm. The four concepts shown in July reflect that compromise, with two roundabout options and two without.
The Road Commission Maintains Half the Intersection
In the 2024 application, staff put the study's total cost at $37,500. That figure combined a $30,000 Oakland County Access to Transit grant request with a $7,500 Village match. The minutes from that 2024 meeting record that the Road Commission supported the application. The open-house boards describe the work as coordinated with residents and the Road Commission.
What happens after November depends on the county's schedule. The Road Commission's 2026–2029 Transportation Improvement Program lists Southfield Road from 13 Mile to 14 Mile as a "3R" project. It's scheduled for construction in fiscal year 2029 at an estimated $6,240,000. In the 2024 discussion, Village staff mentioned that the Road Commission had proposed a Southfield Road boulevard for 2029. The current program entry lists only the 3R work and doesn't mention a boulevard.
The Village itself frames the report as a starting point. Its planning projects page says staff expects to apply for more funding for the next steps in improving the intersection's safety. The study paid for drawings. Whatever gets built will need new money and the agreement of the Road Commission, which maintains Southfield Road and has that stretch programmed for fiscal year 2029.
The Strip That Starts at This Corner
Beverly Road marks the north end of the Village's commercial district. The original Downtown Development Authority district, formed in 1985, covered the west side of Southfield Road from Beverly Road to 13 Mile. Because of legal challenges, the authority never collected any tax revenue, its board went dormant around 1988, and its plan expired in December 1991.
In 2025 the Village joined Main Street Oakland County and the National Main Street Center and began rebuilding the DDA. The revived district is being redrawn to include every commercial property along Southfield between 13 Mile and Beverly Road, with board appointments planned for mid-January 2026. The new businesses are already here. In September, WXYZ reported that My Big Fat Shawarma would open its fourth metro Detroit location at 31243 Southfield Road with a grand-opening celebration on September 12.
The intersection study and the DDA revival come from the same department. The Village's Planning & Economic Development Director, Susie Stec, is the contact for both. A crosswalk that's easier to use at Beverly Road also makes the north end of the strip easier to reach on foot.
On the Village Calendar Between Now and December
Beverly Park sits at 18801 Beverly Road. These are the dates on the Village's late-fall calendar, along with the corner itself:
- Week of October 26: curbside chipping runs this week. Branches 2 to 6 inches in diameter go at the curb on your regular trash day, stacked with cut ends facing the same way.
- Sunday, November 8, 9 a.m.: "Rooted in Beverly," a community tree planting at Beverly Park.
- Week of November 16: the last curbside chipping week of 2026, moved to the third week because of Thanksgiving.
- November: the final intersection study report goes to Village Council. It will be posted on the planning page and in the Council agenda packet.
- Thursday, December 3, 6 p.m.: Cocoa and Lights in the Park at the Beverly Park Pavilion, with music and refreshments. The fall newsletter printed the wrong date, and the Village's correction confirms December 3.
The new Beverly Park playground is close to finished. C&G Newspapers reported in August that the $658,513 project received $500,000 from the state DNR and $100,000 from Oakland County. The Village's Fall/Winter newsletter says turf installation is among the last steps and the playground will open soon.
Questions about the study go to Susie Stec at [email protected].
At Cindy Kahn Real Estate, we follow projects like this one because a redesigned corner affects every home nearby, from the morning left turn to the walk over to the Southfield Road shops. If you'd like to talk about what changes along Southfield could mean for your home's surroundings, Request Your KahnCierge Consultation.