Ashman & Rodd Corridor Conversion

Midland City Council will receive a report from staff on this project at its regular meeting on Monday, November 13, 2023 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 333 W. Ellsworth. It is anticipated that the City Council will provide final direction to staff on this project at that time.

A Little Bit of Background

When first designed, Ashman and Rodd Streets were both two-way streets. In 1958, the City adopted a Major Street Plan which called for many street changes, including the creation of the Ashman and Rodd Street one-way pairs. This change became effective on October 1, 1961. At that time, many communities went to one-way streets as the best way to move traffic as quickly as possible from one place (usually, into or out of the city's downtown or major center) to another. Now, though, we realize the potential issues associated with this approach: Fewer economic development opportunities, higher vehicle speeds, reduced navigability, and lower safety ratings for pedestrians.

The two-way restoration of Ashman and Rodd Streets is being considered to address the following concerns:

Provide traffic calming to reduce vehicle speeds and wrong-way driving
Increase safety for non-motorized users, pedestrians, and motorists
Improve access and navigability to residential and commercial properties along the corridors
Provide more connectivity between Downtown, Midtown, and Center City districts
Improve delivery of City services, including emergency response, curbside collections, and snow plowing

Latest Updates:

Planning Commission Passes Resolution in Support of Two-Way Restoration

At its October 10 meeting, the Planning Commission again reviewed, discussed, and ultimately passed a resolution in support of the two-way restoration of Ashman and Rodd Streets. This meeting included a presentation from the Planning Department and discussion from Commissioners. It is highly encouraged that all residents interested in the project for any reason watch this presentation! The item begins at the 28:00 mark.

Planning Commission - October 10, 2023

Screengrab from the Planning Commission meeting regarding Ashman and Rodd

Click here for a PDF version of the presentation

Downtown Development Authority, Center City Authority Boards Pass Resolutions in Support of Two-Way Restoration

At their September meetings, both the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Center City Authority (CCA) boards reviewed the potential two-way restoration of Ashman and Rodd Streets as directed to do so by the City Council in July. After holding public meetings on the topic, both boards passed resolutions in support of the streets' restoration to two-way traffic.

Separately, the Midland Downtown Business Association, a group led by Downtown business owners, also voiced its support for the restoration.

Click the meeting thumbnails below to watch the meetings of the DDA and CCA for September.

Downtown Development Authority Board - September 13, 2023	Center City Authority Boards - September 20, 2023
Click here to read the meeting agenda	Click here to read the meeting agenda

City Council Passes Resolution to Refer Project to Business District Boards, Planning Commission for Additional Review

Click the slide above to watch the video presentation

At its July 10, 2023 meeting, the Midland City Council voted 3-1 to pass a resolution that sends the Ashman and Rodd two-way restoration project to the Downtown Development Authority Board, Center City Authority Board, and Planning Commission to provide a detailed review of the potential restoration from their unique perspectives.

The presentation provided to Council was extremely detailed and provided an extensive description of the corridors' history, background of the projects, the "why restore two-way traffic?" question, and other information, so it's highly reccommended to watch this meeting in its entirety.

Watch the presentation (Video link, begins at 15:30 mark)
Read the presentation (PDF)

Why Now?

We're in a unique position to analyze this area of our street network at this time because of two separate projects occuring in our community. The first, the Buttles Street Corridor Improvement Project, is a Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project that will begin reconstruction of Buttles Street from Jerome to State in the 2025 construction year. To provide final design considerations, MDOT needs to know from the City if its designers should design the intersections of Ashman and Rodd with Buttles for one-way or two-way traffic. Other upcoming projects impacted by these streets are Phase II of the Saginaw Road Streetscape Redevelopment Project as part of the Center City Redevelopment Plan and Phase II of the Downtown Streetscape Renovation in Downtown Midland.

Supporting Documents

Restoration of two-way traffic on Ashman and Rodd Streets has been a topic of conversation and study in Midland throughout the 62 years since the conversion was first implemented, including in the City's current Master Plan. Click the links below to view guiding documents that have discussed this conversion to this point..

Project Timeline:

A timeline of recent and anticipated future action on the two-way restoration is provided below. Updates or actions that are reviewable by document, webpage, or video are linked where appropriate.

Graphic: Comparison of Traffic Counts - Ashman & Rodd vs. Other Major Streets
A comparison of the traffic counts from 2022 on Ashman and Rodd Streets has been made to other similar streets with the City of Midland. This assists in the visualization of how the number of cars utilizing Ashman and Rodd Streets compares to other major streets with two-way traffic and similar context, including Swede Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, and Waldo Avenue. Traffic counts on Ashman and Rodd Streets are very similar to these other two-way streets at key intersections, and even in many places see less vehicle traffic.
(Click the image above for a PDF version of this graph)

Word on the Street(s) Talks Conversion

Season 3 Episode 1 - April 27, 2023

Season 3 Episode 2 - October 25, 2023

In Season 3 Episodes 1 and 2 of the City's "Word on the Street(s)" podcast, City staff discuss the Ashman and Rodd conversion, provide insight into the "why" behind the project, share what they heard from open house attendees, and detail what's next for this potential project. Click the videos above to watch and check out the Buttles & Indian Corridor Improvement Project website for more info on the podcast.

Public Input on the Project

Open Houses Share Info, Collect Input from Corridor Users

The City of Midland hosted a series of five public open houses April 18 - 20 at locations in Downtown Midland and Center City to share information and collect feedback on the future of Ashman and Rodd Streets. Approximately 100 residents attended the drop-in style events to view sample project designs, discuss concerns with staff, and ask questions about the potential conversion.You can read a complete report of the comments received at these open houses and view all visuals shared with attendees via a report from PM Blough, Inc. by clicking here.

Online Input Topic Collects Comments on Focus Areas
As a complement to the 5 in-person open houses, an online option was made available on the City's online engagement plaform, E-CityHall, in early May 2023. The blog-style input topic breaks the project down into easy-to-consume functional areas with the opportunity for corridor users to learn more about the project and provide comments and feedback on these areas. While the topic is now closed to public comment, you can read all the information shared and residents' comments by clicking here.

Additional Public Comments Submitted to the City
You can view public comments submitted to the Center City Authority, Downtown Development Authority, Planning Commission, and City Council by clicking here. These comments are current as of November 13, 2023.