After the latest round of fire damage last fall, a bridge on Kalamazoo’s bike path closed. The city says the closure is permanent. The boardwalk is gone, though the wooden structure that supported it was still in place Wednesday.
The wooden bridge connected the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail downtown with the eastern portion of the path. It ran under East Michigan Avenue, sitting just above the Kalamazoo River.
There were several fires on the bridge, according to McVerry. But, he added, that was not the only problem with the boardwalk.
The bridge had low clearance, creating the risk that cyclists would bang their heads, McVerry said. It also tended to flood and get slippery.
“It was never really a safe alternative for bikers or walkers to use just because of, any of the recent flooding, the wood would actually get wet and then develop kind of like moss on it,” McVerry said.
He added that for now, people should use the crosswalks at street level as an alternative. He admitted that this is not ideal, given the heavy traffic on the road. McVerry said plans for a permanent replacement are still in development.
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
