Planning commission recommends South Washington corridor study be forwarded to city council

Holland City Planning Commission on Aug. 12 recommended that city council receive and review the South Washington corridor study, a planning-level evaluation of roadway and multimodal improvements on Washington Avenue.

The study, prepared by city planning and transportation staff with public outreach, was funded with a $40,000 city allocation and technical assistance reimbursable through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation(MEDC) Redevelopment Ready Communities program. "On budget is maybe better than on time," Planning Department staff said, explaining the project still requires council approval to obtain final reimbursement from MEDC.

The plan packages several design concepts and operational ideas for the corridor between Michigan and the southern city limits. Staff highlighted possible signalization of intersections on Michigan Street, a southern Washington gateway with landscaping and a boulevard to reduce left-turning movements from the southbound approach, and widening or improving sidewalks on the west side of Washington.

Consultants and staff summarized public engagement that included two well-attended open houses and feedback exercises in which attendees prioritized concepts. That input produced a list of potential improvements: signalizing Michigan at select cross streets, creating dedicated left-turn phases at some intersections, consolidating or narrowing commercial driveways for access management, relocating or reconfiguring bus stops (including a recommendation to provide pull-outs for MAX buses), and adding pedestrian lighting and multiuse sidewalks.

Transportation staff noted some existing operational issues observed during the outreach, including a bus stop at Meadowlane Drive where bus drivers engaged yellow flashers and oncoming drivers did not consistently stop, creating confusion. Staff said a potential fix would be to relocate the stop so buses could pull entirely off Washington Avenue.

Staff also flagged maintenance and durability concerns tied to heavy truck movements to the fuel terminal on Ottawa Avenue, which rely on Washington and 30th Street for ingress and egress. "We want to make sure that what we do will hold up to that type of traffic," staff said, noting surface and structural considerations could be part of later designs.

On pedestrian crossings, the study discusses midblock crosswalks, but staff urged caution: "I think we need to just be aware that that's probably not something that is going to be high on our list to implement, and it is there's a safety concern there about creating a false sense of security for somebody to try and get across our roadway," staff said. Staff recommended prioritizing signalized crossings and other engineered, signal-based solutions.

Commissioners and staff discussed near-term and longer-term actions. Staff said the corridor study is intended as a planning tool rather than a construction document; individual projects would undergo separate design reviews and additional public comment. They also said the city will pursue grant funding for construction when ready, including applying for federal Safe Streets and Roads for All-type funding; staff described that opportunity as having high funding levels and said the corridor project could compete for tens of millions in grant funding. If funded, staff estimated a 4- to 5-year horizon to construction.

The commission voted to forward the study to city council for study-session briefing and council consideration, with a recommendation that council review and authorize the staff actions needed to seek final MEDC reimbursement and pursue grant opportunities.

Staff indicated further engineering, intersection-level traffic counts and safety analyses will occur during project design, and that bus routing and minor routing changes with the transit agency (MAX) could be pursued as lower-cost improvements in the interim.

For now, the study remains a policy-level planning document; no construction, rezoning or regulatory approvals were adopted by the commission at the Aug. 12 meeting.