KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — “Fixing the damn roads” has been the focus of Governor Whitmer and the state over the last few years. But it hasn’t been in Kalamazoo, and it looks like road surfaces in most neighborhoods will get worse before they get better.
In a recent budget meeting, city Public Works director Jim Baker says they will be focusing their attention for now on rebuilding and converting downtown streets to two-ways, which won’t be finished until the end of the decade.
That might not be a problem if local streets were not also in dire need of repair. PASER ratings show the majority of Kalamazoo’s local roads are in poor condition, worse than the rest of the county and the state.
Baker says downtown projects are largely being subsidized by federal dollars, money that can’t be used for local streets.
53% of Kalamazoo’s major streets are also in disrepair, 20% above the state average and 4 times the County Road Commission’s percentage.
City Manager Jim Ritsema says he plans to set aside an entire commission meeting to talk about the roads in the new year.
Comments