Amplify Kalamazoo - Road Diet Coming to Milwood
What Is a Road Diet? City Explains Safety-Focused Street Changes
A recent explanation from city staff shed light on an increasingly common transportation strategy: the road diet.
Road diets aren’t about reducing traffic—they’re primarily a safety tool for traffic calming. With fewer conflict points on the road and more predictable movement, the design can prevent crashes and reduce speeding.
While improved safety is central to every road diet, the redesign often leads to additional community benefits. In many cases, bike lanes can be added using the extra road width.
The city has already completed several road diet projects.
One of the upcoming projects will involve Portage Road beginning just south of Cork Street and moving north toward Reed Street, where three lanes currently drop off.
Ultimately, the goal is to design streets that reduce crashes and improve safety for everyone — drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.
The road diet strategy represents a shift in how cities think about transportation: not just moving vehicles, but making streets safer, more efficient, and more community-friendly.
