Cones have been in place and work has already begun to turn Kalamazoo Avenue back into a two-way street, but Monday, July 20, marked the official groundbreaking of the transformative $21 million project.

The project is one that will contribute to the safety of cyclists, pedestrians and drivers and make downtown a much more accessible place for visitors, said Kalamazoo City Manager Malcolm Hankins.

“I am so excited about this project for lots of reasons,” said Jane Ghosh, president and CEO of Discover Kalamazoo. “Downtown Kalamazoo is the No. 1 place that out-of-towners come when they come to Kalamazoo, and right now these one-way streets really act as an obstacle for people being able to explore downtown.

“Changing this will make our downtown much, much easier to navigate for visitors. It’ll also help them explore more of downtown. We have fabulous small businesses, locally-owned and operated, north of Kalamazoo Avenue that people never get to because this road acts as an artificial barrier for people.”

The two-way conversion, in conjunction with the new $515 million arena set to open in 2027, will help to unlock numerous economic opportunities for the community, Ghosh said. Among those opportunities, Ghosh highlighted, included the joint effort of Discover Kalamazoo and WMU to bring NCAA championship events to the arena in the next five years.

The three-year project to transform Kalamazoo Avenue is part of a greater five-year Kalamazoo Streets for All initiative that also includes turning Michigan Avenue, Lovell Street, Main Street and South Street back into two-way streets.

Up until the late 1960s, all of those streets had been two-way streets.

“In 1966, MDOT decided two things,” Mayor David Anderson said. “One, ‘we want less stops in downtown Kalamazoo, and (two), we want a higher traffic speed through downtown Kalamazoo.”

The result was turning the two main thoroughfares of Kalamazoo Avenue and Michigan Avenue into one-way streets, along with the smaller streets.

“Businesses from that time talked about how hard it was for their businesses when that happened,” Anderson said, referencing that the changes came less than a decade after Kalamazoo built the nation’s first pedestrian mall in 1959.

Changing back should help ensure that Kalamazoo is an active place for connection and commerce for years to come, he said.

“That is what this effort is,” Anderson said. “It’s going to take several years, but this is our reinvention again here in Kalamazoo.”

The project, in addition to the reconfiguration and resurfacing of the road includes:

New street lighting, including lights over the roadway and light posts along sidewalks

• Modern traffic signals mounted on mast arms
• Removal of overhead electric and communication lines
• Removal and consolidation of utility poles where possible
• New sidewalks and curbs in full ADA compliance
• New trees and landscaping along Kalamazoo Avenue

Underground infrastructure will also undergo major improvements, including:

• Replacement of existing water main and water service lines
• Replacement and upgrades to storm sewer system
• Installation of new infrastructure for traffic signal interconnection
• Moving the electric system underground, replacing current overhead lines

Getting through the next few years will be a challenge for residents and businesses alike, but Pop City Popcorn owner Becky Bil is excited about what’s to come.

“Construction isn’t always exciting while you are living through it,” Bil said. “It can mean orange barrels, detours, changing traffic patterns and a little extra patience, but it’s also a sign we are investing in our future.

“As business owners, we understand that these improvements are intended to make our downtown stronger for years to come. At the same time, construction can present real challenges for the small businesses that call downtown home.”

Bil stressed that “downtown is still open” through the changes.

“The sidewalks are open,” she said. “The shops are open. The restaurants are open. The coffee shops, galleries, entertainment venues and service businesses are all here, ready to welcome you. Yes, it may take an extra minute to find parking or navigate a new route, but those extra few minutes can make a tremendous impact on the local businesses that make downtown unique.”

City officials highlighted that there is free 90-minute parking provided in the Epic Center and Kalamazoo Mall ramps. The city also offers more than 400 free 90-minute on-street parking spaces and on-street metered parking is also free after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on Sundays and holidays.

“Today represents much more than the start of a construction project,” said Eric Cunningham, managing partner with Kalamazoo Forward Ventures. “It represents years of visioning becoming reality.”

Cunningham has been advocating for the two-way conversion since 2015, when he first served with the city commission, stating it would be good for local commerce.

“The strongest downtowns aren’t designed around moving cars as quickly as possible,” he said. “They are designed around creating places where people choose to gather, shop, and as my mayor would say, dine, invest and build community.