FeedsCanton bills IKEA for public safety overtime costs
Canton police and fire personnel have dedicated 2,714 overtime hours to IKEA since it opened June 7, according to a report released last week.
The cost, which is being reimbursed by the store, totals $110,899.59.
For a company that says it made $15 billion in sales revenue last year, that might seem hardly a problem.
Still, Canton and IKEA are exploring long term solutions to matters which commanded most of those overtime hours: preventing “jaywalking” and manning a temporary crosswalk from an overflow lot east of Haggerty Road.
The first step is the design and installation of signs directing pedestrians who park across the street to the regulated crosswalk at Ford and Haggerty.
“That’s in progress right now,” said Lt. Robert Kerr, who is overseeing the adjustment to IKEA traffic. “There will be signs that will be on both sides of Haggerty, at the overflow lot and across the street on the IKEA property. They will direct people to the crosswalk at Ford and inform them that there’s a fine associated with jaywalking.”
According to an “After Action” report on the store opening by the Canton Department of Public Safety, “numerous shoppers” chose to cross at will despite the availability of shuttles and permanent crosswalks.
IKEA has discussed the creation of a permanent crosswalk from the overflow lot, which was designed originally for employee parking, with Wayne County.
One option ruled out is a pedestrian tunnel under Haggerty, which is not possible due to underground infrastructure, said Kerr.
An overhead bridge is probably unlikely, too. Such a structure would cost upwards of $500,000, estimated Tim Faas, municipal services director for Canton. The inclusion of wheelchair ramps and height clearance requirements for truck traffic would necessitate a long structure that would take away parking spaces, too.
“But doing a (street level) pedestrian crossing would create traffic problems,” he added, citing the proximity to the Ford and Haggerty intersection.
For the past two weekends, Canton police haven’t set up the temporary crosswalk. Shift commanders are keeping tabs on the situation, said Kerr.
“It’s been quiet, no doubt about it,” he said. “Especially weekdays.”
The rush is expected to pick up at the end of the month, though. IKEA will issue a new catalog around that time, which they warn is a peak period for them.
It’s unknown if it will match the rush Canton saw in June.
According to the report from public safety, about 100,000 visitors came to the store during the five-day grand opening, including 20,000 people on the opening day and a high point of 29,000 on Saturday, June 11.
The opening event alone cost about $115,000, somewhat less than the $176,372 police budgeted for the project. The department spent about $2,000 of the $10,000 contingency funds for unforeseen expenses of plywood and light towers for the temporary crosswalks. Those costs will be reimbursed, too.
Parking will continue to be discussed, though. Police have set up a meeting with IKEA and business owners in the Willow Creek plaza to west of the store to discuss allowing overflow parking in their lots, where parking is plentiful.
