First work week with two-way Capitol and Grand avenues is underway in downtown Lansing

LANSING — The era of two-way Capitol and Grand avenues has begun in downtown Lansing.

On Monday morning, drivers seemed to mostly follow old traffic patterns, with most vehicles on Capitol Avenue heading south and those on Grand Avenue northward. The two streets, each formerly one-way, were converted to include both north- and southbound traffic over the weekend.

City spokesperson Scott Bean said city officials discussed the project in a meeting and they agree it's begun smoothly.

Bean said one driver was confused Saturday while the new street lines were being painted, but they quickly corrected course.

"Once the lines were painted people were adjusting really well," Bean said. "(Lansing police) Chief (Ellery) Sosebee says there were no reports of problems from LPD either. He drove the streets this morning personally as well and didn’t see any issues."

The change was unexpected for some heading to work, including for Logan Nostrant, who works in City Hall.

"It was surprising," Nostrant said. "It's been a long weekend and I wasn't expecting to see this, but I'm heading to work and I'm gonna ask about it."

DAY ONE: Capitol and Grand avenues are now marked for two-way traffic in downtown Lansing

MORE DETAILS: It's finally happening: Next phase of Lansing street conversion set for Saturday. Which streets are affected?

Heading south on Capitol, the conversions begin at Oakland Avenue and stop at Washtenaw Street, once again becoming southbound one-way traffic.

Bean said the Michigan Department of Transportation asked Lansing officials to hold off on fully revamping the streets southbound to highway exits along St. Joseph and Malcolm X streets as they work on their own Interstate 496 construction project.

That project is scheduled to be completed by September 2023, according to MDOT.

In all, Lansing plans to convert six downtown streets for two-way traffic by the end of next year, starting with Grand and Capitol avenues. Pine and Walnut streets are expected to be converted this fall, after the state Department of Transportation finishes this year's leg of its I-496 rebuilding project.

Ottawa and Allegan streets — both MDOT-controlled roads — are expected to be converted next year, Lansing Public Services Director Andy Kilpatrick said last week. Some construction work will need to be done at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to allow for two-way traffic on those streets, he said.

For now, it's just Grand and Capitol. And while the change is directly affecting vehicle traffic, it's also prompted an adjustment for pedestrians in the vicinity.

Mary Simmons and Olivia Hill walked west along Allegan Street Monday morning, lugging a water tank behind them.

They work for The Plant Professionals, a Lansing plant landscaping, design and maintenance firm. They were tending to potted plants outside downtown businesses and office buildings on a contract assignment.

Simmons and Hill base their morning watering routes on the locations of water sources. Maneuvering between parking spots has become a bit more complicated, but Simmons said they'll adjust their route in time.

"It's just a little bit more effort. I don't think it's going to be something we can't deal within a couple times, but definitely new," Simmons said.

"It'll be a learning curve," Hill said.

For other pedestrians, it's just a bit of a wake-up call to keep their heads up.

"It's gonna be harder to blindly walk across the street," Carter Chain said as he headed across Ottawa Street toward the state Capitol.

Ken Palmer contributed reporting. Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Downtown Lansing sees newly-changed two-way traffic