10 Mar MDOT Reconfiguring Charlevoix’s Bridge Street for Safety

The Michigan Department of Transportation recently unveiled its $2 million plan to reconfigure Bridge Street in downtown Charlevoix. The project aims to enhance safety for all users, reduce congestion, and improve pedestrian mobility.

Slated to start next year, the plan calls for three new traffic signals at Mason Street, Antrim Street, and Park Avenue, as well as crosswalk improvements, curb bump-outs, and conversion of Mason and Clinton Streets to one-ways.

“As demonstrated by two recent surveys, traffic problems in downtown Charlevoix have many contributing factors, and many (sometimes contradictory) causes attributed to them,” MDOT said. “Drivers are frustrated and slowed when pedestrians cross wherever is convenient for them, and pedestrians feel there are not enough safe and convenient crossings on U.S. 31 (Bridge Street).”

MDOT said it has made improvements in Charlevoix over the years, including the four- to three-lane conversion in 2018 that has contributed to a more than 50 percent reduction in crashes, and changes to crosswalks to help pedestrians find a safe and efficient path to cross streets. However, some of the overarching issues and concerns remain.

Rather than a piecemeal approach, addressing a single traffic or safety issue at a time, MDOT said it is instead proposing a comprehensive plan that addresses all the major issues at once. This plan would require the proposed changes to be implemented together, as their benefits are interdependent and won’t work as well, or possibly at all, if not put in place holistically. The planned changes include: