Cork Street Road Diet

• Project scheduleLate summer/fall 2026

The City of Kalamazoo is improving Cork Street from Westnedge Avenue to Portage Street as part of a coordinated effort to enhance safety and extend the life of the roadway. This project includes pavement maintenance, new pavement markings, and updated signage designed to make the corridor safer and more comfortable for everyone who uses it.

Cork Street will be reconfigured from four lanes to three, with one travel lane in each direction, a shared center left-turn lane, and new bike lanes on both sides. This “road diet” will create a consistent, continuous design along the broader Parkview-Whites-Cork corridor, improving traffic flow and reducing crashes while creating more space for people walking and biking.

To support safer pedestrian crossings, several mid-block crosswalks will be added along the corridor. These crossings will include pedestrian refuge islands, push-button activated rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs), and pedestrian-scale lighting to improve visibility and comfort for people walking at all times of day.

This project will also include the section of Lovers Lane between Foley and Portage, which will be updated to match its lane configuration southward. 

Together, these improvements will extend the life of the street, make it safer and easier to navigate, and better connect neighborhoods, businesses, and destinations along Cork Street.

Safety Benefits of a "Road Diet"

Converting a four-lane street into a three-lane layout (often called a “road diet”) is a proven way to make streets safer and more comfortable for everyone. This design reduces conflicts between vehicles, improves visibility for drivers and pedestrians, and provides dedicated space for people biking.

With one through lane in each direction and a shared center turn lane, vehicles turning left no longer block traffic or cause sudden lane changes. This reduces rear-end and sideswipe crashes, which are common on four-lane roads. Studies by the Federal Highway Administration show that road diets can reduce overall crashes by about 20 to 50 percent, while maintaining similar travel times for most drivers.

The addition of bike lanes and clearly marked crosswalks further separates different types of traffic, making it easier for everyone to see and predict each other’s movements. Mid-block crossings with pedestrian refuge islands and flashing beacons also make it safer for people to cross wide streets, especially in busy areas.

Similar lane conversions have been completed in recent years on Parkview Ave, Whites Rd, and Cork St east of Portage. This project will create one continuous three-lane corridor.