KALAMAZOO, MI -- The process to convert a major one-way street to two-way traffic is moving forward.
The Kalamazoo City Commission will consider approval of a contract for design services for the Kalamazoo Avenue two-way conversion project for $955,035 at its meeting on Monday, May 16.
People in the city of Kalamazoo have discussed and debated its one-way downtown street network for nearly 50 years, City Planner Christina Anderson told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette on May 13.
The city gained control of the streets from a 2019 jurisdictional transfer. After getting community input and completing engineering reports, the city is poised to begin work on the long-standing goal, the city agenda packet states.
The first major construction project of this “transformation” effort will be on Kalamazoo Avenue between Harrison Street and Douglas Avenue, Anderson said.
Construction is estimated to begin in 2024 or 2025, she said, and a lot still has to happen before that, including more community input and determining some design elements, and the design process.
The multi-year project is the first of several projects that will eventually see the conversion of Michigan Avenue, Lovell Street, Main Street, and South Street to two-way operation. It also includes the redesigns of Stadium Drive, Michikal Street, Westnedge Avenue, and Park Street.
The changes meet the community’s goals of streets that are safe and comfortable for all users, the packet states.
Stadium Drive work is under construction now.
It makes sense for Kalamazoo Avenue to go first for one way conversion work, she said. They expect Kalamazoo Avenue to carry a slightly higher level of traffic compared to Michigan Avenue, she said.
Kalamazoo Avenue and Michigan Avenue, the major streets that run parallel through downtown, will both be converted to two-way traffic under the overall plan.
The Michigan Avenue work will follow after the Kalamazoo Avenue work, she said.
Four proposals were received by the deadline. A comprehensive project team was assembled to review and compare the proposals. Wightman and Associates’ two-phase proposal totaling $955,035 was selected based on its conveyed understanding of the project scope, the firm’s experience, and its project delivery abilities, the agenda packet states.
This is incredibly exciting, Anderson said, noting how long the conversion has been talked about.
Related: Should Kalamazoo convert one-way streets downtown?
“It’s starting to happen,” Anderson said.
Much of the work leading to this point happened during COVID, which had an impact on in-person events, construction projects, and more.
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