Kalamazoo’s Winchell Ave. Experimental Bike Lane Design Is Already A Bust

Well, we had some concerns about some of the traffic ideas being implemented in kalamazoo. People are slowly getting used to the new bike lane designs through downtown, and it still remains to be seen how two-way traffic will fair once they make that change.

But one change that was implemented last week on Winchell turned out to be a disaster from the beginning - the Shared Traffic Lane.

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We wrote about this a while back, this new idea for traffic and cyclists sharing the road that has worked in other areas of the country, and in Europe. But I don't think we were prepared for it to start as soon as it did.

Last Wednesday, Kalamazoo crews installed "triangle bumpers" on the pavement of Winchell Avenue, where this experimental traffic situation was going to take place. The idea was show drivers where they would need to merge, and the areas of the road they would need to avoid when sharing the road with cyclists.

Crews attempted to return to the bumpers and properly secure them to the road with long bolts, but after just a few more hours, drivers had continued to hit and destroy them. Before the sun set, crews had already removed the new bumpers.  

Kalamazoo parody accounts had a field day with the events that took place just hours apart.

Soooo.... turns out, it might not be such a great idea for a shared traffic lane in Kalamazoo. Or, at the very least, they could re-paint the lines next time to indicate where drivers are supposed to go.