It looks like Monroe Street is preparing to go on a vacation sometime soon.

Vacation is a fancy word planners use to describe when they close a street and make it exclusively for pedestrians. The University of Michigan is looking at doing this with Monroe between State and Oakland streets between the Law Quad and the half block where it is expanding.

"The idea is to create a strong psychological and physical connection between the law school facilities," says Jim Kosteva, director of community relations for the University of Michigan.

U-M is currently renovating its historic Law Quad and building an extension to it on the southeast corner of State and Monroe called South Hall. Kosteva adds that closing that section of the street would make it safer for pedestrians.

A final decision has not been made and firm date hasn't been released to move forward with the plans. The earliest anything could happen would be in 2011 when the Law Quad project is done.

"We would be looking at something closer to that time frame," Kosteva says.

Source: Jim Kosteva, director of community relations for the University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke