The recently installed roundabout at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Washington
Avenue in Downtown Lansing caps a summer in which the city poured more
than $3 million into street improvements, pedestrian crosswalks,
flower beds and benches leading up to the intersection.
“Part of it was about improving safety at that intersection and part of it was about aesthetics,” says Randy
Hannan with the City of Lansing.
The roundabout opened in the middle of October and "is designed to help pedestria
ns make their way
through traffic, not help speeding cars get Downtown faster."
Unlike other city roundabouts, the one at this intersection has a stop sign at each entrance point. This means that cars stop before entering the roundabout, giving pedestrians a chance to cross.
It also helps the visually impaired, who wait to hear the traffic stop before they cross. A traditional roundabout never stops traffic, discouraging pedestrians from crossing, Hannan says.
Hannan says this is all part of a plan to get more residents walking around and hanging out in Downtown Lansing.
Source: Randy Hannan, City of Lansing
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie
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