KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Residents are invited to attend a ribbon cutting event on Tuesday, May 31 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Jones Park at 1601 Academy Street to celebrate the opening of a pilot play street on Peak Road and Circle Street in the West Main Hill neighborhood.
The play street will serve as an extension of Jones Park and will be a car-free zone for children and adults to walk, play, and ride bikes, scooters, or skateboards.
The goals of the play street are to create a new place for children and adults to safely play, increase safety from traffic for those playing in Jones Park, and create a joyful activity hub for neighborhood events this summer.
Officials say this will be the first play street to be piloted in Kalamazoo and that it will serve as a case study to assess if the concept could be applied in other neighborhoods.
This pilot play street will be in place for four months with pre, mid, and post observations to evaluate the project including speed data, levels of activity at the play street, and a resident survey to gauge interest and sense of safety. If successful, the play street could be made permanent. If so, permanent signs and bollards would be installed, and the street would be de-certified and remain unplowed in the winter.
This project is part of neighborhood planning for the West Main Hill neighborhood.
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