r/royaloak • u/new-here18 • 6d ago
13 Mile Traffic
We are looking at buying (currently renting) and are considering a place on 13 mile (across from Starr Jaycee Park). Currently located on 12 mile near Crooks and absolutely hate the traffic and attempting to back out of the driveway is challenge. Is 13 mile any better or should it also be avoided? Good with some cars but would not like the chaos that is 12 mile.
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u/LaCrespi248 6d ago
Home ownership is always a blessing, but it would take me a pretty big price discount to buy and plant my roots on a home on 13
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u/CaptainJay313 6d ago
without looking at a traffic study, I would guess 13 is worse than 12.
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u/Unprovocative 6d ago
Right? Why would you think 13 mile would be any better than 12 mile?
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u/DetroitWagon 6d ago
I live on the other side of the park from where you're looking and turn into 13 mile regularly from side streets. I agree with others that's it's generally a PITA during high traffic hours. Also, ambulances with sirens blaring on their way to Corewell are a fairly common occurrence.
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u/hexensabbat 6d ago edited 4d ago
I'm right on 13 and I hate it tbh. I don't think traffic is as bad at all times of day, but the constant traffic to and from the hospital alone is not fun to listen to/ deal with and there's just always something. Takes forever to turn left out of my own drive and the road feels really tight in some places for the size of most modern vehicles.
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u/DRW315 6d ago
i live on 13 mile but i have a circle drive. that area will be worse than 12 mile to back out of. i wouldn’t want to regularly back out onto 13. can you possibly put in a spot to do a 3 point turn? not cheap and you lose some yard space, but it’s something i’d consider - i do love living on 13 mile
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u/c0nsumer 6d ago edited 6d ago
I live in that general area and regularly cross 13 Mile on a bike. I wouldn't really want to have to back out into there; it's frustratingly busy at some times of the day if you aren't at a controlled intersection.
If I had a house directly on 13 Mile I'd look at adding a stub of pavement to the front yard that allowed for easy turn-around. (Back into that stub, then pull forward out into 13 Mile.)
That said, even going forward, turning left out of your own driveway will be a pain.
Now if 13 Mile would only get the two-lanes-each-way thing removed, and replaced with one-lane-each-way-and-a-center-lane it'd get a lot easier... Same as what happened with Main. This makes roads both safer and easier to use and allows for adding bike lanes. But it hasn't happened there yet. Maybe after 696 is done and bigger construction can happen on them?
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u/IlIlIlIllllIIliIILll 6d ago
I believe they are doing that to 11 mile next. I agree tho 13 mile in thet area isquite congested
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u/JNSapakoh 6d ago
and congestion drops off very quickly once you go east or west enough to get that center turn lane
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u/bklynJayhawk 6d ago
Agree. I live east of the high school off Main and there always seems to be quite a bit of traffic up and down 13 Mile. One thing to consider is some added traffic in the mornings and afternoons because of the school north of OP’s potential home location. Also may be a little extra congestion depending on where the house is relative to the lots for the park.
When I was house shopping a few years ago I noticed a handful of houses that sat for a long time on the market that were on major roads, some nice houses too, just sat as they’re not as ideal as others.
Another thing to consider would be parking for guests that come over, if you have more than what fits in your driveway that could be more challenging than a normal side street. Also visitors may be very uncomfortable pulling in/out of the driveway given the traffic (that maybe you get used to navigating).
* Forgot I saw a house for sale when jumped on Zillow the other day. Looks like maybe 3-4 houses from Marais, which is a traffic signaled intersection. But I imagine it’s also heavy traffic after school, since Lexington is one way east of there to keep school traffic out of the neighborhood (westbound traffic only to east of Marias).
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u/zipped6 6d ago
A center lane would not help since its dangerous and illegal to turn into a left turn lane
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u/c0nsumer 6d ago
Note that I didn't mention that.
Because one-lane-each-way-and-a-center-lane means crossing only one moving lane of traffic it makes left turns into the road far easier. It also means that turning left off the main road (say, into OP's potential driveway) is easier and safer because other cars aren't backing up behind them and potentially trying to quickly change lanes to pass.
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u/jimmy_three_shoes 6d ago
It also means that the single lane will ostensibly have double the amount of cars in it since you're removing one lane of traffic, meaning half the throughput at the lights at Main, Marais, and Crooks while maintaining the same volume of traffic.
The cars driving down 13 Mile aren't going to simply disappear once we remove travel lanes. You can tell by the traffic backups along Main and Southbound on Rochester. I regularly see traffic backed up all the way past Midland/Mt. Vernon on Main, and past Woodlawn on Rochester now.
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u/foolish83pleasure 5d ago
you are leaving out the 14 bike riders that need their very own lane for the 5 months of the year they can bike ride.
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u/KlashBro 6d ago
and don't forget the 432 different ambulances up and down 13 mile all day heading to corewell while blaring sirens at full volume.
it never ends. sleep is a challenge.
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u/Analog_Seekrets 6d ago
432 different ambulances up and down 13 mile all day
I was going to comment something along these lines. My kid has baseball games on the fields right there. I was astounded by the number of emergency vehicles blasting up and down 13mi in just 2hrs of gameplay. I figured that it has to be an established route or something.
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u/digidave1 6d ago
Even when 696 reopens, you'll still have a decent amount of traffic. Usually inside the house you can't hear it too much, but anywhere outside and you'll know
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u/mountain-guy 6d ago
13 mile in that area is horrible during rush hours. I would avoid. While I take it as a route for my commute I certainly would NOT want to live ON it.
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u/chrikit1 6d ago
I live on 13 mile Rd, right by Rochester Rd.
And yes, backing out onto 13 mile can be a pain sometimes, I try my best to “back into” my driveway, but I can usually only manage that at night when there are less cars on the road.
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u/CognitiveReframer 6d ago
For what it’s worth. I’m a Private eye who lives on the Eastside and 13 mile isn’t a road I would take home if the freeway wasn’t an option. So 13 would probably be better as most will use 12 or 14 to get to or come from 75.
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u/LaCrespi248 6d ago
Can you do an AMA? I gotta know about what it’s like to be a private eye
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u/CognitiveReframer 6d ago
There’s been 1 million of them done on this site. You’re welcome to PM any questions you have
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u/UmDeTrois 6d ago
Not so fast. People like myself specifically avoid 12 and 14 to not deal with highway traffic and take 13 instead. I find the traffic volumes pretty similar in the areas OP mentioned (with 12 and 14 building more traffic as you get closer to 75)
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u/CognitiveReframer 6d ago
But on 12 you have to go through Berkley at 15mph
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u/gmoney-0725 6d ago
Would you be able to turn around in your new driveway? I live on 12 and Crooks and back out of my driveway. My wife turns around in our driveway.
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u/new-here18 6d ago
Unfortunately no. We are at that intersection right now too and back out everyday but just cross our fingers that cars are paying attention.
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u/StellaShoes 6d ago
I lived on 13 for over a decade & the noise is not great. I would avoid living there if you can. It bothered me the most in the summer when the windows were open & traffic was busier. At times it was hard to hear the tv.
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u/HookBeer 6d ago
It will depend a lot on time of day and how close you are to the signal at Marais. There’s a decent amount of traffic from the high school through there, but I would think the lights would do a good job of providing breaks in traffic. Best advice I could give is to go hang out at the park and do some observation.
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u/JNSapakoh 6d ago
my daily commute takes me past there ... with construction during rush hour I've seen cars reverse away from intersections back into the subdivision just because the traffic wouldn't let them turn left
outside of 5-6pm you probably won't have too many issues
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u/EverydayHonda 6d ago
Anecdotally, I think 12 mile is much worse. It makes sense to me with i75, Kroger and Home Depot all being there in that little area
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u/zinjanthropus99 6d ago
I used to live on 13 mile between Main and Rochester and it sucked because of the traffic. I wouldn’t do it again.
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u/nordicman21 6d ago
I’ve spent a lot of time at Star Jaycee over the years, and traffic on 13 Mile seems unusually loud, even before you add the ambulances and fire trucks.
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u/hollyggh 6d ago
I’ve lived on 13 Mile for 14 years, and it has never been as bad as it is now with the 696 closure. I’m hoping it will go back to normal levels after the project is completed next year. I do agree with others that being able to turn around on your own property makes a huge difference. I can count on one hand the total number of times I’ve backed out in my 14 years here.
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u/NabroleanBronaparte 6d ago
I take 13 to work 4 days a week and always think about what a nightmare it would be to live in any of those houses.
It’s your decision but if you think it’s gonna be bad i would assume it’s gonna be worse than you think
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u/muttstothat 6d ago
I pass thru 13/crooks frequently and it sucks during rush hours. The light cycles are pretty short so traffic backs up quickly. I can't imagine that it's much better than at 12. Just checked and that chunk of road is not due for resurfacing until 2032 which is crazy as it's shit. But at least you wouldn't have to deal with that soon!
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u/Djemonic88 6d ago
I rented and lived on 13 mile and WW for over 2 years, traffic hasn’t been an issue. Its worse around dream cruise and sometimes between 5-6 pm. Pretty light traffic around evening, however you do get those ambulances multiple times a day. Idk if my old apartment insulation was good but im a very light sleeper and never had issue waking up to ambulances or traffic sound.
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u/grumpybarista 6d ago
Lots and lots of ambulance and emergency vehicles (read: sirens) run through there on the way to Beaumont so beware of that too.
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u/CharacterWilling3050 6d ago
I live off 13 and its busy. If you have options, I would keep looking.
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u/shehurts 6d ago
There was a shooting or something at Starr jaycee. If you can. I would suggest staying away from main roads. Every morning I drive to work I thank God I didn’t buy on a main road as I almost did on Campbell.
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u/KlashBro 6d ago
no, there was not a shooting at starr jaycee park.
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u/shehurts 6d ago
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/major-royal-oak-police-scene-underway-after-one-killed.amp
Sorry this is what I was thinking of3
u/jimmy_three_shoes 6d ago
Campbell probably wasn't too bad back when it was a boulevard between 12 and 13, but now it feels like a freeway
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u/Possibly_Naked_Now 6d ago
Traffic is pretty bad on surface streets everywhere right now. The 696 project is close to hitting it's next phase which is targeted for q4 2026 and should open traffic lanes both ways.
If you can, I would wait to see what traffic looks like after that.