[FF-fan]

Lelah Johnson-Green, 58, walks for her health each day around downtown Pontiac.
Living in a nearby neighborhood where she cares for her elderly parents, Johnson-Green sees the Woodward Avenue loop -- the one-way, higher-speed, multilane road that circles downtown -- as a barrier to access to the downtown area.
"I think it's time for a change," she said.
And city and county officials agree. This week, they will gather for three days to discuss the Downtown Pontiac Transportation Assessment, which includes three new layouts for the loop and ways to reconnect Saginaw Street to Woodward Avenue where the Phoenix Center blocks it off. The meetings are open to the public, but a special time set aside for public comment will be Tuesday night.
The goal is to define a layout that makes the road more pedestrian- and bike-friendly and better suited to actual traffic flow.
"The road was essentially over-designed," said Bret Rasegan, an Oakland County planning supervisor. "It was projected around 1980 that about 150,000 cars per day would use the loop, and it never got anywhere near that."
With $300,000 in federal funds to undertake a study of the road, three options have emerged:
• Making the west side of the loop two-way; keeping the east side one-way and reducing the number of lanes.
• Making the entire loop two-way.
• Making the loop two-way and reducing the number of lanes on the east side.
Pontiac Mayor Leon Jukowski said reopening Saginaw Street is a priority because it's easier to get through downtown that way, and changing the east side of the loop is a way to reconnect people from the nearby neighborhood to downtown.
"A four-lane highway is pretty intimidating for pedestrians," he said.
As for how to pay for the changes, Jukowski said a recent deal penned by emergency manager Lou Schimmel to transfer operation of the city's wastewater treatment facility to a county-managed entity could free up city funds. No method of paying for repairs had been finalized, Jukowski said.
Unity Barber Salon owner Antonio Magee, 40, said changes that make it easier to get downtown will be better for business.
"I think it's a good plan," he said. "You can just walk downtown, get what you want and go home."

Pontiac officials plan meetings on Woodward Avenue loop changes | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

I do agree that the Loop should be more pedestrian friendly, but there are other factors that's keeping downtown Pontiac from thriving. What do you all think about narrowing the Woodward Loop?

[animatedmartian]

I definitely think they should make it two way and reconnect Saginaw street. I don't know if it'll exactly help Pontiac grow much, but the few businesses along Saginaw Street might get more traffic. That Phoenix Center is the worst case example of 60s urban renewal. In fact, the whole idea of having a ring road around the business center seems like 60s odd planning fad. Yuck.

[FF-fan]

I totally agree. I remember the area had the Clinton River run through and all the historic buildings lining up Saginaw. It was like Birmingham in some respects, just a beautiful little downtown. I think the Phoenix Center and the Loop was a big mistake. It's ugly, pointless, and an attraction for vandals. Never liked it when it was built, didn't like it when I lived in Pontiac, and I still don't like it.