KALAMAZOO, MI — New chicanes, or “bump outs,” are being installed on the streets in Kalamazoo’s Northside neighborhood in an effort to slow vehicle traffic.
Kalamazoo city staff demonstrated and explained the new devices during an event at LaCrone Park on Thursday, July 30.
“Essentially it’s a yield street,” Public Services Director James Baker said, explaining that vehicles will stay to the right and yield to any oncoming traffic before navigating through the “bump outs,” or chicanes.
Chicanes are marked off areas extending from the curb that create a physical barrier for traffic to navigate through. By design, chicanes encourage drivers to slow down when going through them, the city said. They are also meant to reduce crashes, and unlike speed bumps, chicanes are still easy for bikes and emergency vehicles to travel through, the city said.
The devices will be on neighborhood roads, and if motorists feel the need to drive at faster speeds they can travel to a major road, Baker said.
“We’re really trying to send a message of, if that’s how fast you intend to drive, don’t do it on this street, go north or south or east or west to a major street that does have that posted 35 mile per hour speed limit,” Baker said.
Baker, along with Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas and other city officials, attended the demonstration event Thursday.
Some people asked about speed bumps at the event, and some were skeptical that the new chicanes would slow traffic.
Chicanes are also much more affordable than speed bumps like the ones currently installed in Kalamazoo, Baker said.
The project budget is $30,000 and includes proposed chicane locations on Staples Avenue, Woodward Avenue, Cobb Avenue, William Street, Elizabeth Street, Mabel Street, Florence Street, Ada Street, Burdick Street, Edwards Street, Bosker Avenue, Prouty Street, and Cadillac/Hawley Street. The city showed a map with 24 proposed chicane locations at the event Thursday.
The chicanes will be installed in late summer 2020 after the kick-off demonstration. Existing speed and volume data will be recorded prior to installation for comparison after the chicanes are installed, the city said.
The chicanes the city is installing will be semi-permanent and will consist of areas marked with traffic tape and flexible posts. By using tape and flexible posts they are cost effective and easy to install and allows for easier adjustments compared to poured cement, the city said.
The city’s project information said the devices do have a down side: The chicanes will be installed in a section of the on-street parking area of the street and result in a loss of on-street parking spaces. The city will also have to make special consideration for snow plowing of the street in the winter, Baker said. There is a potential that the chicanes could be damaged by drivers and they also require reflectivity maintenance, the city said.
The project is part of the city’s goals working toward traffic calming citywide, along with a redesign of streets.
The timeline for chicanes in Kalamazoo.
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