Tell MDOT we need a safe biking / walking connection through the State / I-94 interchange!

[Adam Goodman]

TL;DR: click this this link and tell MDOT we need a safe bike/ped connection through the State/I-94 interchange

Hey folks - the public comment period for the MDOT 5-year plan is open through Sunday. You can provide comments on the plan overall, or on specific projects - and please feel encouraged to speak your mind to them on anything you wish. That said...

There are two major projects in the plan that would impact Ann Arbor and the surrounding communities: one on US-23 and one on I-94:

The US-23 project seems to be proceeding in a reasonable direction, so I would say that providing further comment is not urgent at this time.

The I-94 project is based on a study that was finalized in 2020 and has been proceeding more quietly. According to the description in the interactive map, the project is to "Construct [an] I-94 flex lane and State Street interchange improvements". (I should note that MDOT staff told me that their current intentions for this project are not accurately reflected in this description; there will be no "flex lane" per se, and instead they plan to add outer "auxiliary lanes" that would connect the ramps between State St. and I-94 only. Even with this reduced scope, well ... as a rule we should not be widening highways, but given the already-completed study it's likely too late to stop this overall.)

Because the project description mentions “State Street interchange improvements”, I strongly recommend submitting a comment saying we need a safe biking/walking connection through there - this project could be an opportunity to address a major, longstanding nonmotorized-transportation barrier in our community.

This link should populate the correct job ID in their feedback form: 

https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/2bec4319beb64745944286f6bc94efe5?portalUrl=https://mdot.maps.arcgis.com&field:job_description=%20JobID=210997:%20Additional%20Lane(s)%20less%20than%200.5%20mile%20long&field:location_description_autofilled=I-94%20from%20Ann%20Arbor/Saline%20Road%20to%20US-23;%20US-23/I-94%20interchange&field:job_tsc=Brighton%20TSC

- Adam