Traverse City study session weighs two‑year extension of State Street two‑way pilot to gather post‑construction data

Summary

City staff and the DDA presented two years of data from a two‑way circulation pilot on State, Boardman and Pine streets and asked the commission to consider extending the pilot to collect traffic, pedestrian and bicycle data under non‑construction conditions and to test additional design changes.

At a Jan. 13 study session, Traverse City staff and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) discussed whether to extend the State Street two‑way circulation pilot for two more years to gather data after the recent bridge and Grandview Parkway construction projects conclude.

The pilot — installed after a DDA recommendation and a traffic control order that expired in October — converted Boardman, State and Pine to two‑way traffic and included signal and pavement changes, curb modifications and painted bump‑outs funded through TIF 97. Harry Burkholder, executive director of the DDA, told commissioners the conversion was intended to slow vehicle speeds, improve pedestrian access and spur private investment along those corridors.

Burkholder said staff collected repeated counts of vehicle volumes, speeds, pedestrian and bicycle activity and crashes at multiple points over two years. “We were averaging about 22 miles per hour. At the beginning of this project, we’re down to 20,” he said, noting the change is modest but measurable. He told the commission some speeding…

Traverse City study session weighs two‑year extension of State Street two‑way pilot to gather post‑construction data

Summary

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