Downtown Kalamazoo’s One Way Streets Could Be Changed

Some leaders in Kalamazoo are attempting to overhaul several one way streets in the downtown area.

The Kalamazoo Gazette says that the city’s director of planning and community development Rebekah Kik is hoping to make these changes happen soon, because she says one way streets are hurting the city’s economic development. She says that wide one way streets with heavy traffic are antithetical to the idea of a thriving downtown, where people stop at businesses lining the street and walk around the city.

However, there is a catch to any potential change; several of the one way roads that Kik wants changed, including Westnedge, Kalamazoo and Michigan Avenues, are all MDOT operated roads, so the city would need to get the state agency on board with any conversion plan.

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