Kalamazoo’s Portage Street road diet adds bike lanes and crossing beacons from Cork to Stockbridge

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Portage Street between Cork Street and Stockbridge Avenue now carries one through lane in each direction, a center left-turn lane and bike lanes on both sides, matching the layout north of Stockbridge, according to the city’s project page.

The redesign is part of Kalamazoo’s Streets for All work. The city says converting a four-lane street into a three-lane “road diet” is meant to cut crashes and calm traffic while keeping travel times workable for drivers. Federal Highway Administration studies the city cites put overall crash reductions from road diets at roughly 20 to 50 percent.

Crossing upgrades include solar-powered rectangular rapid-flashing beacons at Cambridge Drive, Roseland Avenue, Franklin Street, Lay Boulevard, Hays Park Avenue, Clinton Avenue and Egleston Avenue. The corridor also gets median refuge islands, curb ramps, pedestrian lighting, push buttons, new signs and pavement markings, the city said.

As of the city’s latest project update, the pedestrian islands were complete and crack sealing was underway, with roadway surface sealing and pavement markings scheduled for the week of Sept. 28. The posted construction window ran Aug. 3 through Sept. 30.

City Commission approved the work in May on a 6-1 vote, Watershed Voice reported, with a $1.04 million agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation. Funding listed then included $750,000 in federal grant money and $289,402 from the city’s Major Streets Capital Budget. Vice Mayor Drew Duncan cast the no vote.

Drivers, cyclists and walkers using Portage Street south of downtown should expect the new lane layout and watch for the flashing beacons at mid-block crossings.

Sources:
City of Kalamazoo, “Portage Street Lane Conversion,” project page, https://www.kalamazoocity.org/Community/Projects/2026/Portage-Street-Lane-Conversion
Maxwell Knauer, Watershed Voice, “Kalamazoo approves Portage Street road redesign, advances rail relocation planning,” May 13, 2026, https://watershedvoice.com/2026/05/13/kalamazoo-approves-portage-street-road-redesign-advances-rail-relocation-planning/
Photo: Kzoo Cowboy, “Former AMC - Portage Street, Kalamazoo (51222309007).jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_AMC_-_Portage_Street,_Kalamazoo_(51222309007).jpg

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