The county Road Commission agreed with a group of Glen Arbor Township residents that Cheney Road offers views of natural beauty.

But they didn’t agree that Cheney should be designated a Natural Beauty Road (NBR).

At its meeting Tuesday, the commission unanimously approved a motion by member Glen M. Noonan to go on record in opposition to designating Cheney Road as a NBR. Noonan said one concern he had is the designation would attract more traffic on the road, which is something the people petitioners would most likely not want.

Despite the rejection, the commission directed manager/supervisor Herb Cradduck to place yellow advisory signs on the road stating it is a scenic, winding road.

John Lesperance and Robert Senk circulated petitions in the township to seek NBR status for Cheney from Wheeler to Miller Hill roads.

Both have homes off Cheney. Lesperance said they began the process of seeking the designation two years ago with a goal to keep the road as it is, but with a lower speed limit.

“The major concern residents had was to not continually see the road widened as it has. Bob and I have lived on this road for 20 years and we have seen it getting wider and wider,” he said, adding he’d like to see the road remain unpaved because he believes it keeps vehicle speeds down.

“A gravel surface seems to do that. We were looking for a minimum amount of improvement and to keep the road as rural as long as possible,” he said.

The Road Commission held a public hearing Oct. 20 on the request to designate Cheney under the state’s Natural Beauty Road Act. NBR benefits could have included an advisory speed limit of 25-35 mph and signage announcing the designation.

Commission chairman Lee A. Bowen said he couldn’t support the designation.

“The goals of the Natural Beauty Roads program are to identify and preserve in a natural, essentially undisturbed condition, certain county-local roads having unusual or outstanding natural beauty by virtue of native vegetation or other natural features within or associated with the right-of-way, for the use and enjoyment of local residents and the public in general,” Bowen read at the meeting.

Bowen said after reading the six criteria for designation, chief among them the “character of the road” standard, he didn’t think Cheney was much different from other roads in the county.

The character criteria states a road must have outstanding natural features along its borders, like native trees and or vegetation, or open areas with scenic or natural vistas that in combination or singly set the road apart from other roads as being unique and distinct.

“We have 702 miles of road in this county. I’m not sure there is anything (more) unique about Cheney Road than any other road in the county. It’s a beautiful road, but so are many of our roads,” Bowen said.

Vice-chairman John Popa agreed with Bowen’s assessment, but also thought the road would need to be paved in the near future.

“We put $30,000 this year in maintenance on this road. We’re probably going to have to pave it. I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the Road Commission to have this designation on the road, one way or the other,” he said.

The commission had received a notice from the Glen Arbor Township Board that it had denied a resolution of support at its Oct. 20 meeting. Reasons given for the denial was that board members questioned if the designation would have any impact on how the road is maintained and traveled. Board members were also concerned about setting a precedent.