The lanes on this road are so wide. Also, looks like there is no complete streets treatment on this. Seems like the city is disregarding its own ordinances.
Wow, would you look at that! I am going to enjoy using this street again, I was walking down there this spring and I was so disgusted with the condition of the street, all the potholes and broken pavement thrown up unto the sidewalk, it was really so depressing I decided not to drive or walk down Capitol Ave anymore. To me, it is almost criminal what has happened to our streets and highways, and this era of just letting things fall apart will end up costing so much more to repair now that there seems some will to do so. It seemed almost a purposeful neglect to show urban citizens that government does not work, and it can not even take care of the roads. Thankfully it seems like that era may be over, it might be a good idea to study just what happened and why so that when we have the money and will we can learn from the mistakes of the past and build a city that we citizens deserve.
Is there any hope of converting Saginaw/Oakland into 2 way roads? I'm new around here, and the fact that people drive at 50/60 mph on those streets is honestly just dangerous, and makes me really scared as a pedestrian and hell, even when I drive on them.
This route is a state highway so perhaps the state could help Lansing with these busy ugly dangerous streets. I wonder if back when they turned the streets one way, was it a state or city project in the first place? In other words I wonder if the city could just reconfigure the streets without state involved. I don't think that having two large two way streets would create huge traffic problems, Short of that the city could lower the speed limit, and even thought it is great to go with the green lights as you pass through town perhaps some red lights along the way to slow traffic and break up the packs of cars that are traveling at high speed to keep up with the green lights could help. I would like to see Cedar and Larch be two way and slower streets as well. We have a east west crosstown freeway 496 and north south 127 where you can drive at 70 mph, if they fixed all of those routes making them safer and more pleasant to drive maybe more people in a hurry would use them if the other routes were now slower two way streets. Just my thoughts on the issue.
Several other Michigan cities have taken state highways through their city and converted them to two way. I asked the mayor if Lansing has petitioned the state to do this or has plans to do this. I have not received a response back. Maybe you could inquire again.
This is interesting, I had not considered that they would have to move the signals and street lights. It is cool to be around to see this change back to two-way streets. I can not remember when they were two-way in the old days so the streets have had this configuration for over 50 years. There is no need to move traffic like when thousands of more vehicles were downtown so it is a good time for a change. I hope drivers don't flip out about this change.
I drove down the newly paved South Capitol Avenue!, it is such a great improvement it's like we became part of the United States again! As a person who grew up here, the condition of that street was a score of embarrassment and shame to me. Of course, the good pavement ends right at St. Joe where the intersection is still pitted with potholes but we are heading in the right direction!
I have seen historical photos of the day Sweden switched from driving on the left as they do in England to driving on the right as we do here, it was quite a mess! I hope the same does not happen on the big day when we go back to two-way streets downtown! Capitol Ave will be a great way to get over to Old Town from REOtown.
Comments
The lanes on this road are so wide. Also, looks like there is no complete streets treatment on this. Seems like the city is disregarding its own ordinances.
Wow, would you look at that! I am going to enjoy using this street again, I was walking down there this spring and I was so disgusted with the condition of the street, all the potholes and broken pavement thrown up unto the sidewalk, it was really so depressing I decided not to drive or walk down Capitol Ave anymore. To me, it is almost criminal what has happened to our streets and highways, and this era of just letting things fall apart will end up costing so much more to repair now that there seems some will to do so. It seemed almost a purposeful neglect to show urban citizens that government does not work, and it can not even take care of the roads. Thankfully it seems like that era may be over, it might be a good idea to study just what happened and why so that when we have the money and will we can learn from the mistakes of the past and build a city that we citizens deserve.
Good point. The ordinance does not seem to mean much then. I am not surprise though.
Is there any hope of converting Saginaw/Oakland into 2 way roads? I'm new around here, and the fact that people drive at 50/60 mph on those streets is honestly just dangerous, and makes me really scared as a pedestrian and hell, even when I drive on them.
This route is a state highway so perhaps the state could help Lansing with these busy ugly dangerous streets. I wonder if back when they turned the streets one way, was it a state or city project in the first place? In other words I wonder if the city could just reconfigure the streets without state involved. I don't think that having two large two way streets would create huge traffic problems, Short of that the city could lower the speed limit, and even thought it is great to go with the green lights as you pass through town perhaps some red lights along the way to slow traffic and break up the packs of cars that are traveling at high speed to keep up with the green lights could help. I would like to see Cedar and Larch be two way and slower streets as well. We have a east west crosstown freeway 496 and north south 127 where you can drive at 70 mph, if they fixed all of those routes making them safer and more pleasant to drive maybe more people in a hurry would use them if the other routes were now slower two way streets. Just my thoughts on the issue.
The thing is I'm pretty sure the limit is 35 mph...people drive insanely fast despite that