Downtown Flint converting to two-way streets by spring, officials sayBy Kristin Longley | Flint Journal
November 13, 2009, 2:40PM
Hollyn Johnson | The Flint JournalElectrician Dan Burch with Rauhorn Electric takes down old traffic lights in preparation for two-way streets that will take effect in 2010 on the corner of East 2nd Street and Harrison Street.
FLINT, Michigan — Say goodbye to the one-way traffic nightmare in downtown Flint and make way for new bicycle lanes and more parking.
After decades of headaches for downtown motorists, seven one-way streets will be converted to two-way streets by May at the latest, city officials said.
The change will be the culmination of years of planning and more than $3 million in federal funding to reverse the outdated traffic system, which hasn’t been needed in this post-industrial city for decades.
“I can’t fricken wait,” said Ken Van Wagoner, owner of The Good Beans Cafe on Grand Traverse Street. “People are sick of getting stuck in this endless one-way loop.”
By the end of next month, crews should be finished updating the traffic lights at 14 intersections, which will be better timed for more efficient traffic flow, said Pat Rahn, the city’s traffic engineering supervisor. The city worked on 19 intersections last year, he said.
After the snow melts, the city will then change the signs and hire a contractor to change all the pavement markings, he said.
“All of the signals will be done soon so once the weather breaks in the spring we can paint the roads,” he said.
The majority of the streets will have three traffic lanes (including a left-hand turn lane), a bicycle lane on one side and a parking lane on the other side, Rahn said.
The plan is to have a bicycle route connecting Kettering and downtown Flint, he said.
Flint beat out other communities to land the two-phase competitive air quality federal grants, which total more than $3 million. At one point, the project nearly died amid the epic feud between the City Council and former Mayor Don Williamson.
But the end of the one-way traffic maze is finally in sight.
The roads targeted for the change include Grand Traverse Street, Kearsley Street, Glenwood Avenue and 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th streets.
Grand Traverse Street will likely be the first to switch so there’s an easier route from I-69 to Hurley Medical Center, he said.
That’s music to Van Wagoner’s ears. The business owner for years has said the conversion will bring more consumers to the downtown area and possibly spark more development.
“The traffic flow that necessitated this one-way grid we have has not been in this city for over 20 years,” he said. “There’s not one single reason I can think of that this kind of traffic flow is needed for this kind of environment.”
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