KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – City of Kalamazoo officials say a more lively and vibrant downtown Kalamazoo is on the way, thanks to the street infrastructure work that is ongoing throughout the city, which they say is meant to make Kalamazoo safer, more connected, and more livable.
It’s called the “Streets for All” initiative. So far work has affected the city’s main thoroughfares of Michigan Avenue and Kalamazoo Avenue.
“Our primary objective in the changes to Michigan Avenue has been to reduce crashes and control speeds,” said Dennis Randolph, traffic engineer, City of Kalamazoo. “It has been difficult for pedestrians to cross Michigan Ave., and the speeding, dodging and weaving have made the street dangerous for everyone.”
Both Michigan Avenue and Kalamazoo Avenue will over time be converted into two-way throughfares in the coming years. Michigan Avenue reconstruction is expected to start in 2026 after Kalamazoo Avenue is completed. Due to its poor condition when the City took over jurisdiction from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), crews have taken a series of steps to maintain it until full reconstruction begins.
This work involved recent pothole patching and then a protective seal called a “fog seal” to help deter further deterioration.
“While doing the fog seal, we felt it would be an appropriate time to deal with the issue of serious crashes on both Michigan Avenue and Kalamazoo Avenue,” said Randolph. “Studies show both streets, which account for about 1.5 percent of the city’s centerline street mileage, account for about 7 percent of all city crashes. Many of the crashes are speed-related, both in excessive speed and a wide variation in speed among drivers going from 25-30 miles per hour to 45-50 mph in the same traffic stream.
City simulations that show two through-lanes as the most appropriate lanes for Kalamazoo and Michigan Avenues, along with the newly fog-sealed surface, gave traffic engineers a chance to remark Michigan Avenue with the appropriate number of lanes and new lane width.
While the new pavement markings on Michigan Avenue are temporary, city traffic engineers say they have observed a marked reduction in dodging and weaving and excessive lane changes. They also have observed a reduction in excessive speeders, and more people are traveling together in organized “platoons” or vehicles traveling in a coordinated manner.
Over the next several weeks, crews will install traffic signs along with special bicycle signals, and signals are anticipated to be operational in October. The traffic signals will be timed so that there is effective traffic progression – at the posted speeds of 30 and 35 mph – so that drivers can progress with minimal stops from the intersection of Stadium Drive and Howard Street to Harrison Street and Kalamazoo Avenue, and along Stadium Drive and Michigan Avenue.
Additional street projects are taking place now and over the next several weeks in and around downtown, impacting traffic in the area:
Sewer lining work on Kalamazoo Avenue involving pipes that had deteriorated and need to be repaired before city crews begin the two-way conversion.
Over the next several weeks, sewers on Michigan Avenue also will be relined, resulting in lane closures.
Work recently begun in the Ransom Street improvement project will stretch until next summer and will result in street and sidewalk improvements as well as water and sewer improvements.
Bridge repairs on East Paterson is anticipated to be completed by mid-October.
