Vehicle traffic is not the only thing that has increased along the Mound Road corridor over the years. Foot traffic has also has also increased along the corridor, and not just where there are sidewalks.
“When we walked mound road we realized there were a lot of trails, people have been walking where there weren’t sidewalks, the grass was gone,” Regine Beauboef, project manager and senior vice president, HNTB Corporation told the attendees of the Innovate Mound 201 community engagement event.
She noted this especially occurred on the roadway’s west side, because it is closer to residential areas.
“As a result of that, we determined that building a continuous sidewalk from north to south was a major improvement for pedestrian traffic,” Beauboef said.
The Innovate Mound project team also looked at how difficult it was for pedestrians to cross the roadway, and made adjustments to crosswalks and pedestrian traffic signals where they could.
The project team identified five locations along the roadway where there is much more pedestrian traffic:
- Metro Parkway
- 14-Mile Road
- Arden Avenue
- 12-Mile Road
- Dobry Drive
In these highly-traveled areas, the project team is planning enhanced signage and street markings to help drivers become more aware of pedestrians.
Landscaping improvements
The project team is also planning landscape improvements for the pedestrian-heavy areas, and they are planning to deploy the aesthetic throughout the rest of the roadway. Special attention is being paid to the Historic Downtown Warren area.
“We wanted to be sensitive to the context of the historic village,” Beauboef said. As a result, a classic landscaping design is planned for that particular area.
Another example of where accommodations are being made for foot-travel is at the Arden Avenue intersection.
When the reconstruction of Mound Road is finished, drivers on Arden will no longer be able to cross the median of Mound Road. Instead, they will be redirected around. This will make the intersection less congested and safer for those walking in the area.