Transportation safety improving in Kalamazoo
Published on November 27, 2024
Kalamazoo’s streets are becoming safer, thanks to traffic calming measures to narrow streets and reduce speeds being implemented through the City of Kalamazoo’s Streets for All initiative.
Crash data recently presented to Kalamazoo City Commissioners this year through November shows a 23 percent reduction in city crashes, compared to a 13.2 percent reduction in 2023. The 2024 reduction also compares with a 17 percent reduction for the rest of the state of Michigan. Crashes involving bicycles in the downtown area also have decreased by almost 50 percent, while crashes involving pedestrians have decreased by 30 percent.
“The numbers are looking positive,” said Dennis Randolph, Public Works Manager and Traffic Engineer for the City of Kalamazoo. “We’re seeing a nice and steady decrease in crashes across Kalamazoo because of the traffic calming measures we’ve been implementing. Our efforts are making movement across the city safer for everyone: pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. This is enhancing our overall quality of life.”
Other areas of the city are seeing positive data related to speed. Today’s average speed along Stadium Drive is just under 27 miles per hour, compared to nearly 28 MPH in 2019, and just a nine-second difference in segment travel time. Traffic calming measures also are being implemented in the City’s neighborhoods, including adding speed humps on designated streets and placing 4-way STOP signs at every other intersection – another approach that has been a factor in the significant reduction of crashes the city is experiencing this year.
Through Streets for All, some of the city’s one-way streets nearby and in downtown Kalamazoo are being redesigned with plans to be transformed to two-way traffic over the years. Michikal Avenue is redesigned and back open to temporary one-way traffic but will eventually become two-way in a few years. Kalamazoo Avenue, from Harrison Avenue through downtown and heading west through the historic Stuart Neighborhood to Douglas Avenue, will begin the two-way transformation in 2025.
Michigan Avenue’s reconstruction and transformation is expected to start in 2026 after Kalamazoo Avenue is completed. Both Michigan Avenue and Kalamazoo Avenue have long been major areas of concern related to speed, according to Randolph, and a primary objective has been to reduce crashes and control speeds.
“Recent studies showed both streets, which account for about 1.5 percent of the city’s centerline street mileage, accounted for about 7 percent of all city crashes,” said Randolph. “Many of the crashes were 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.
“A significant contributing factor to the speeding was too many lanes for the traffic using the street,” Randolph continued. “On Michigan Avenue, there was a great deal of dodging and weaving, as well as unnecessary passing, which led to many rear-end crashes, sideswipe crashes, and rollover crashes. It was also difficult for pedestrians to cross the street. It’s becoming safer now.”
The bottom line, according to Randolph, is that safety is the City of Kalamazoo’s primary objective. “By managing speeds and driver behavior,” he said, “we not only are making movement throughout the city safer but we’re also reducing noise and air pollution. It appears our progression is working. We’re improving infrastructure while making better streets that are safe for everyone to enjoy.”