Title
Resolution to Approve the Submittal of a Request to Michigan Department of Transportation for Converting I-94BL (Jackson Road) from 4 to 3 Traffic Lanes from East of Maple Road to S. Revena Blvd.
Memorandum
At the direction of Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and for MDOT to continue with the process for converting Jackson Ave from 4 to 3 traffic lanes from east of Maple Rd to Revena Blvd, we have prepared the attached resolution for the City Council’s approval. The attached resolution, once approved, will be forwarded to MDOT to share with the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). With the final approval of the FHWA the proposed lane conversion will be implemented by MDOT with their Jackson Road - Huron Street Resurfacing project (I-94 Interchange to N. Main St.) in 2013 or 2014.
At the present time, Jackson Ave east of N. Maple Road has four (4) narrow traffic vehicular lanes at or about 10 feet wide each. There is a standard 5 foot sidewalk on each side of the street with no bicycle lanes or a safe and convenient pedestrian street crossing point between the two signalized intersections at Maple Road and at Revena Blvd. The following are some of the advantages and impacts of converting a 4-lane major street to a 3-lane street:
Benefits of converting 4-lane major streets to 3-lane streets
· The new center left turn lane provides for safe deceleration when making left turns
· 3-lane streets eliminates lane weaving/unsafe driving
· Uniform speeds at 3-lane streets have traffic calming effect
· Research has shown 4 to 3 lanes reduce the total number of crashes and their severity for:
§ Rear end left turn
§ Head on left turn
§ Angle
§ Rear end
§ Sideswipe
· The extra pavement width that is saved by eliminating the 4th traffic lane can be converted to bike lanes
· The new center left turn lane may create new opportunities for addition of marked and safe pedestrian street cro...
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