Syracuse, NY — The city may put busy James Street on a diet. It’s true. The Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council is conducting a study to see if James Street would benefit from a “road diet” — a tactic that would change James Street from two lanes of traffic in either direction to one lane, add a center left turn...
Syracuse city planners propose putting James Street on a diet, cutting down the traffic lanes, creating turn and bicycle lanes.
Syracuse, NY — The city may put busy James Street on a diet.
It’s true. The Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council is conducting a study to see if James Street would benefit from a “road diet” — a tactic that would change James Street from two lanes of traffic in either direction to one lane, add a center left turn lane and create bike lanes in either direction, said city transportation planner Paul Mercurio said.
The road width would be the same but the lanes would be reconfigured to make the street safer for cars, bicyclists and pedestrians, Mercurio said.
“It’s a very cost effect measure to calm traffic and increase safety,” he said.
He said data show that a road diet limits three types of collisions: side swipes that occur when a vehicle changes lanes; rear-end collisions when a car makes a left turn; and collisions caused by blind spots when two vehicles in opposite lanes make left turns at the same time.
The Transportation Council will hold a public meeting about the study at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln Middle School, 1613 James St. It is looking at a 2.5 mile section of James between Shotwell Park and Oswego Boulevard downtown.
James Street is a commuter corridor, Mercurio said. It begins beyond the city’s eastern border, runs through Eastwood and all the way downtown.
The street has a high amount of car traffic and is heavily used by buses, said Mike Alexander, senior transportation planner with the transportation council. It also gets a good amount of bicycle traffic, he said.
The city has implemented road diets on East Genesee Street from Salt Springs Road to the city line; West Fayette Street between West and South Geddes streets and South Salina Street between the Seneca Turnpike and Dorwin Avenue, Mercurio said.
Mercurio said the city wants to hear from residents about other streets they think could benefit from a road diet or are accident prone. Contact Mercurio at 448-8511 or send an email to: planning@ci.syracuse.ny.us
Contact Maureen Nolan mnolan@syracuse.com 470-2185.