Grand Avenue is a corridor in downtown Des Moines that sees not only a large amount of vehicular traffic but pedestrian and bicycle traffic as well. The City of Des Moines recognized that overall safety needed to be improved along the corridor and conducted a pilot project to address these issues. This project temporarily established ADA-compliant roadway improvements to review their efficiency before permanent installations.

Once the pilot project was complete and the need was discovered, the city began to put a plan in place. Bolton & Menk worked with city staff and began installing the permanent bump-out applications. This was a complete streets application, providing facilities for bikes and pedestrians while also improving the roadway and parking surfaces. MMA paint was used to highlight bike lanes, improving safety along the corridor.

These bump-outs improve intersection safety along the corridor for both pedestrians and motorists, while enhanced visibility along the bike lanes improve bicyclist safety. These solutions ensure the corridor will be a safe place for all modes of transportation.