KENTWOOD, Mich. — Roundabout construction at 36th Street and Shaffer Avenue in Kentwood has been underway since the beginning of June, and while the roundabout itself is now complete, construction in the area continues with the intersection still closed.
Neighbors had just begun adjusting to the original detours when a new closure on Breton Road, approved by the City of Grand Rapids, forced another change to the detour route.
The original detour directed southbound travelers to Breton Road. That road is now closed, pushing drivers to Kalamazoo Avenue as the city's new recommended southbound detour route.
For residents like Beth DeGrote, who lives at a retirement complex on Breton Road, the changes have created real hardship.
"I use Breton every day, and it's just crazy," DeGrote said.
DeGrote said the closure has cut off her access to a nearby bus stop, adding an extra 20 minutes of walking to her commute.
"I live right over there in those trees, and I have to get out, and there's a bus stop, and when they have this construction, I can't get to the bus stop," DeGrote said.
She described the longer route riders are now forced to take.
"We have to go down to 36th and Kalamazoo, and then down to Kalamazoo. Turn on Kalamazoo, and then they have to do the circle, and we get off at the Dollar Tree, and it just really puts a strain on everything," DeGrote said.
DeGrote said she wants city planners to consider the needs of all residents, including those with disabilities, before approving construction changes.
"They don't think about people with handicapped or anything. We have unit apartments over there that are handicapped, and there's people that try to get off the bus here, and they can't," DeGrote said.
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