Poststar.com – September 01, 2014 2:43 pm • By Maury Thompson
2015 Upgrades Planned For Pedestrians, Bicyclists, and Motorists
GLENS FALLS — Pedestrian and bicycle safety features will be part of a Hudson Avenue roadway improvement project planned for downtown Glens Falls next year.
Hudson Avenue, which leads to downtown Glens Falls in the front of Glens Falls Hospital, will be repaved between Elm Street and the Stewart’s shop where Hudson Avenue converges with Broad Street. “The whole length of the project will be repaved,” said Doug Teator, project engineer for Creighton Manning Engineering, in a recent presentation to the city Common Council.
The project is a “rehabilitation” project, versus a “replacement” project, such as this year’s project on Broad Street, said Stephen Godlewski, project manager for Creighton Manning. “It’s a lesser scope, but it’s still going to be a good project,” he said. The entire stretch of road will be repaved, but road surface beneath the pavement will not be reconstructed. Sections of sidewalk that are deteriorated will be replaced, but not the entire sidewalk. Three traffic signals will be replaced, and pedestrian crossing signals added. Curbs at pedestrian crossings will be extended, to make the crossing shorter, and a median will be added in the middle of the street. Two options are being considered for improving bicycle safety.
The most likely scenario is to narrow vehicle lanes, which tends to slow down traffic, and to mark pavement to identify the road as a shared bicycle and motorized vehicle route, Teator said. Designated bicycle lanes are still being considered, but would require the city to change its bicycle strategy citywide, he said. Storm water infrastructure will be improved.
Work is expected to begin in the spring and continue through next summer. “It might be shorter (than this year’s Broad Street project) — a three-to-four month project versus a four-to-five-month project,” Teator said. The federal government will pay for 80 percent of the cost.