City council moves ahead with next phase of Douglas Avenue corridor revitalization

At its April 15 meeting, the Des Moines City Council voted unanimously to approve spending $600,000 to begin designing the next phase of the Douglas Ave. Corridor Plan. This money will be paid to Kirkham Michael & Associates, Inc. of Omaha, NE, to design and coordinate the project. This phase of the plan is expected to take 3-4 years to implement and will culminate in the reconfiguration of the street based on the pilot project findings and citizen feedback, major improvements to sidewalks, and the installation of a new mid-block pedestrian crossing near 30th St.

The Douglas Ave. Corridor plan was approved in 2020 as a roadmap for spurring revitalization along the 2-mile-long corridor between Merle Hay Road and the Des Moines River. The first phase of implementing this plan was a 4-year pilot project in which traffic lanes between Lower Beaver Road and Merle Hay Road were reduced. After analyzing the data collecting during the project, city engineers discovered that the reconfigured roadway resulted in (a) no significant traffic diversion to parallel streets, (b) decreased time for most people to travel the corridor, and (c) substantial reductions in both crashes and injuries along the corridor.

For more details on the council’s decision, check out the council communication concerning the agenda item: https://councildocs.dsm.city/communications/2024/24-162.pdf. For more information about the Douglas Avenue Corridor Plan, visit https://www.dsm.city/business_detail_T6_R484.php.