Shahid Abbas

They include congested traffic that annoys drivers, a greater number of accidents, and the loss of parking spaces, said Shahid Abbas, traffic engineer for Kalamazoo.

He said the city has been considering a proposal to convert some downtown streets to handle two-way traffic for almost five years.

But from a traffic engineering perspective, a change wouldn't make sense for Kalamazoo, he said.Slower-moving vehicles can create traffic jams that make downtown driving an annoying prospect rather than an attractive one, he said.

In addition, he said, a safety audit indicated that switching to two-way traffic would double the number of pedestrians who are struck by vehicles, and would increase the number of vehicle-to-vehicle accidents.

But Shahid Abbas, traffic engineer for the City of Kalamazoo, said he would prefer the authority to determine speed limits remain with the party responsible for maintaining the road.

He added he has never had an issue working with the state police and MDOT on setting speed limits.

'They always take our opinion into consideration,' Abbas said.

According to Shahid Abbas, traffic engineer for the city of Kalamazoo, the railroad crossing lights are checked monthly to ensure they are working properly.

"The actual crossing lights are checked regularly, therefore it isn't possible that they would not be working," Abbas said.

Shahid Abbas, traffic engineer for the city of Kalamazoo, said in addition to the signals and crossing lights to be installed at the intersection, the engineering team has also recommended the installation of a five to seven foot fence around the crossing to assure pedestrians cross only in the designated area.

"We are trying to guide them to the place that is safest to cross that track," Abbas said.

According to Abbas, the $1.1 million project received $300,000 in funding from the city of Kalamazoo and the remainder of the funding for construction will come from the state and Amtrak.Abbas said WMU is donating the land that will be needed to realign the intersection.

For more information about the Traffic Board, please contact Traffic Engineer Shahid Abbas at 337-8601 or via email.
...
Shahid Abbas Traffic EngineerMember by virtue of office

Shahid Abbas, Traffic EngineerCity of Kalamazoo Public Services