Hillsdale City Council to Review Road Diet Plans
Zoning Administrator Alan Beeker will deliver his report at the March 17th meeting
Hillsdale City Hall—Zoning administrator Alan Beeker will give a road diet update at the Hillsdale City Council’s meeting on Monday, 17 March.
Ahead of Monday’s meeting, Beeker submitted a written summary of the project, which can be seen in the appendix below.
According to Beeker’s report, the current arrangement of traffic flow at Broad Street is designed to “move as much traffic as quickly and efficiently as possible through a municipal area.” The traffic flow, though efficient, is reportedly a “proven deterrent to economic development and growth.”
The proposed plan would start when the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) resurfaces M-99 in the summer of 2027. That project will not cost the city, and it will proceed with or without Hillsdale’s participation in the road diet program.
The road diet would include changing Broad Street from four total lanes to three: one in each direction with a middle left-turn lane; however, the street’s width would not be altered, and the extra space would be used for bicycle lanes—a requirement for getting the MDOT TAP Grant.
The project would include alterations to various intersections, including Broad at Budlong, Bacon and Cook, Hillsdale and Broad, and North and Broad. It would also involve the vacation of some streets near the Post Office for additional parking.
The TAP Grant, if received, would reportedly cover 80 percent of the project, with TIFA and the City of Hillsdale covering the remainder. This would put the City of Hillsdale’s contribution at up to $200,000.
By all appearances, the City Council is divided on the issue.
City Councilman Matthew Bentley of Ward II told the Hillsdalian that the plan “demonstrates utter contempt for the people of Hillsdale.”
“Staff is plowing ahead, indifferent to the will of the people,” he added.
Ward IV Councilman Rob Socha previously said that he is in favor of slowing down traffic through the downtown corridor.
“I am for the road diet,” Socha noted last month. “I am in favor of slowing traffic through the downtown corridor providing people driving through town ample opportunity to stop and look around, hopefully shopping and spending, encouraging growth.”
Still, there are reasons to believe that the plan may not be viable moving forward.
The United States Department of Transportation, for instance, is discussing the possibility of cutting federal spending on bike lane projects, which would likely have downstream effects in municipalities.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s office released a statement saying that “we have every right to give [bike lane grants] a closer look,” a sentiment that may leave projects, like MDOT’s plans for Hillsdale, in a state of flux.
Jacob Bruns
You can follow the Hillsdalian on Facebook and Twitter.
Related Stories:
City of Hillsdale Road Diet Discussions Delayed Until Next Month
Appendix:
