The city of Midland is narrowing one of its main roads to make more room for pedestrian traffic.
Increased foot traffic convinced the city of Midland and the Michigan Department of Transportation to make a section of US-10 two lanes instead of three.
After the reconfiguration or, what the state calls, a “road diet”, pedestrians and bicyclists will have additional room to travel on Buttles Street.
John Richard is Communications Rep for MDOT’s Grand region.
“It slows traffic down so if there’s other room for pedestrians and bikers that has a natural tendency to slow traffic down, so what they’re going to do is place these tubular markers to separate pedestrian traffic from vehicular traffic.”
Richard said this “road diet” is a pilot project. Its effectiveness will be evaluated until 2021.
Work on the road is expected to begin Monday, May 14. As long as weather cooperates, it will be finished later that day.