The city of Zeeland will have a traffic and pedestrian study done on Washington Avenue. The study could help the city determine whether to eliminate a center turn lane on Washington between State and Carlton streets.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland City Council has commissioned a traffic and pedestrian study for Washington Avenue that could lead to reducing a portion of the street from three lanes to two as part of a proposed corridor redevelopment project.
The City Council Monday night approved a study for Washington, between State Street and Carlton Street, to help guide city leaders determine whether eliminating the center-turn lane on that stretch of road is feasible.
Eberle Traffic Solutions will conduct the study at a cost of no more than $17,568. The study was approved on a 5-0 vote of the council.
“We feel (the study is) the next part of the data we need in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not this is even a reality,” Interim City Manager Kevin Plockmeyer said.
The study will include weekday morning and afternoon turning-movement counts at State, Elm, Church, Centennial, Maple, and Carlton streets, Plockmeyer said.
The Washington Avenue corridor has been identified by the council as a priority in the city’s strategic action plan for this year. Driving the discussion on improvements to the corridor is the condition of the street itself – it’s considered in poor condition according to the PASER rating system. In addition, the water lines along Washington between State and Carlton need to be replaced, and the sanitary sewer may also need to be replaced to handle an expected increase of sewage from the Mead Johnson Nutrition plant expansion, Plockmeyer said.
“We’re looking at maybe a 2030-to-2033 timeframe (for the project). That’s a long ways away, but these projects take time and the design process takes time,” Plockmeyer said.
The council in January asked city staff to evaluate the right-of-way through that corridor and look at alternative plans for managing traffic.
The major constraint along Washington is that there’s a limited amount of public right-of-way between State and Carlton – as narrow as 50 feet in some areas. In that stretch, the existing road, sidewalks, utilities, drive approaches and adjoining private improvement take up nearly all of the available space, Plockmeyer said.
“When we look at the Washington Avenue visioning plan … we want to enhance greenspace, we want underground utilities - we want to do a lot, but we don’t have a lot of room to do that,” he said.
So how does the city address those desires? One option is to acquire more right-of-way, but Plockmeyer says doing so “is going to be very, very difficult, very pricey, and quite frankly, I think we’ll struggle to get the right amount of right-of-way that we need.”
The other option is to eliminate the center left-turn lane, reducing Washington from three lanes to two from State to Carlton.
“That gets us 11 feet, 11½ feet,” Plockmeyer said. “That doesn’t sound like a lot, but that gives us a 6-foot curb, a 5½-foot curb lawn on both sides. It gives us the greenspace that we would be looking for. It allows us to get the sidewalks in the right-of-way. But it eliminates a traffic lane.”
The study would also include pedestrian counts at the corridor intersections and at three existing mid-block crossings. The assessment would evaluate how the crossings are being used and whether modifications such as improved signage, pavement markings, crossing relocation, or sidewalk-ramp realignment should be considered, Plockmeyer wrote in a memo to the council.
Mayor Rick Van Dorp called the study “a logical first step.”
The study is expected to be completed in 4-6 weeks, Plockmeyer wrote in the memo.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland City Council has commissioned a traffic and pedestrian study for Washington Avenue that could lead to reducing a portion of the street from three lanes to two as part of a proposed corridor redevelopment project.
The City Council Monday night approved a study for Washington, between State Street and Carlton Street, to help guide city leaders determine whether eliminating the center-turn lane on that stretch of road is feasible.
Eberle Traffic Solutions will conduct the study at a cost of no more than $17,568. The study was approved on a 5-0 vote of the council.
“We feel (the study is) the next part of the data we need in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not this is even a reality,” Interim City Manager Kevin Plockmeyer said.
The study will include weekday morning and afternoon turning-movement counts at State, Elm, Church, Centennial, Maple, and Carlton streets, Plockmeyer said.
The Washington Avenue corridor has been identified by the council as a priority in the city’s strategic action plan for this year. Driving the discussion on improvements to the corridor is the condition of the street itself – it’s considered in poor condition according to the PASER rating system. In addition, the water lines along Washington between State and Carlton need to be replaced, and the sanitary sewer may also need to be replaced to handle an expected increase of sewage from the Mead Johnson Nutrition plant expansion, Plockmeyer said.
“We’re looking at maybe a 2030-to-2033 timeframe (for the project). That’s a long ways away, but these projects take time and the design process takes time,” Plockmeyer said.
The council in January asked city staff to evaluate the right-of-way through that corridor and look at alternative plans for managing traffic.
The major constraint along Washington is that there’s a limited amount of public right-of-way between State and Carlton – as narrow as 50 feet in some areas. In that stretch, the existing road, sidewalks, utilities, drive approaches and adjoining private improvement take up nearly all of the available space, Plockmeyer said.
“When we look at the Washington Avenue visioning plan … we want to enhance greenspace, we want underground utilities - we want to do a lot, but we don’t have a lot of room to do that,” he said.
So how does the city address those desires? One option is to acquire more right-of-way, but Plockmeyer says doing so “is going to be very, very difficult, very pricey, and quite frankly, I think we’ll struggle to get the right amount of right-of-way that we need.”
The other option is to eliminate the center left-turn lane, reducing Washington from three lanes to two from State to Carlton.
“That gets us 11 feet, 11½ feet,” Plockmeyer said. “That doesn’t sound like a lot, but that gives us a 6-foot curb, a 5½-foot curb lawn on both sides. It gives us the greenspace that we would be looking for. It allows us to get the sidewalks in the right-of-way. But it eliminates a traffic lane.”
The study would also include pedestrian counts at the corridor intersections and at three existing mid-block crossings. The assessment would evaluate how the crossings are being used and whether modifications such as improved signage, pavement markings, crossing relocation, or sidewalk-ramp realignment should be considered, Plockmeyer wrote in a memo to the council.
Mayor Rick Van Dorp called the study “a logical first step.”
The study is expected to be completed in 4-6 weeks, Plockmeyer wrote in the memo.
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