Key features include lane modifications and pedestrian safety enhancements
DELMAR – Bethlehem Director of Planning Rob Leslie provided Town Board members an overview of the ongoing Delaware Avenue Complete Streets Design project, which aims to enhance pedestrian safety and reduce vehicle speeds on Delaware Avenue.
The project extends from the Elsmere-Groesbeck intersection on Delaware Avenue to the city of Albany. The primary goals are to reduce vehicle travel speed and create a safer environment for pedestrians. Key changes include reducing lane widths from 12-14 feet to 11 feet, and allowing for the addition of 2-foot shoulders, which will move vehicles away from the curb and pedestrians on the sidewalk.
According to the plan, the travel lanes will remain two in each direction throughout most of the existing roadway but will be reduced to 11 feet wide with 2-foot shoulders.
The modifications will allow for additional features, including a pedestrian refuge island and a mid-block crosswalk near the Salisbury and Snowden Avenue intersection, where the road will be widened by 10 feet. The crosswalk will also be accompanied by rectangular rapid flashing beacons to alert drivers to pedestrians waiting to cross.
Leslie said this will provide a safer crossing point for pedestrians between existing traffic signals at Elsmere Avenue and Delaware Plaza.
The road widening will affect approximately nine property owners. The New York State Department of Transportation is in the process of reaching out to these property owners for the acquisition phase. Over the winter months, town staff and engineering consultants met with numerous landowners and business owners to discuss driveway modifications, aiming to reduce pedestrian-vehicle conflicts by narrowing driveway widths.
The plan also includes reducing the travel lanes between Lenox Street and the city of Albany from four to two lanes. Leslie said this is to tie into the existing condition where there is one lane coming in and out of Albany. This will allow for a center turn lane to access area businesses and vegetated medians.
“As you come into town, there will be landscaping and some vertical elements to welcome you. Additionally, this will act as a traffic-calming feature when crossing the bridge from Albany,” Leslie said.
The initial plan excludes changes Town Board members have discussed in the past, including changes to the speed limit and installing a High-Intensity Activated crossWalK system for Salisbury and Snowden Avenue.
HAWK signals operate in a sequence of yellow, red, and flashing red lights to alert motorists that pedestrians need to cross the road. The signals only operate when a pedestrian pushes the crossing button. But the DOT won’t install such a system because there is no pedestrian-use data to support the need, Leslie said.
“Not casting any aspersion at you there. Please don’t take it that way. But that’s just counterintuitive to me,” said Town Board member Tom Schnurr.
Town Board members have also long discussed reducing the speed limit on Delaware Avenue, where motorists are permitted to drive 40 mph, excluding a 30 mph school zone around Elsmere School. In 2022, the town considered reducing the speed limit, but any changes would need to come from the state level as it is a state roadway.
“We expect that with the improvements that are being made, the speeds will come down as a result of the changes,” Leslie said. “Then DOT can formally approve the posted speed limit change.”
A public informational meeting is planned for September, with final design plans expected to be completed by December. The bidding process will begin in January 2025, and construction is slated to start in the spring of 2025. Sewer work has already been completed, and water line work is being planned to coincide with the construction project.
The project includes a supplemental agreement for additional engineering work, totaling $115,000. The town’s match for this 80/20 funding agreement is approximately $27,000. The overall project budget remains within the initial allocation of $537,000 for the design phase.
The Town Board moved to authorize the town supervisor to sign the supplemental engineering consultant agreement for the project last Wednesday.
Important Facts
Project Scope: The Delaware Avenue Complete Streets Design project extends from the Elsmere-Groesbeck intersection on Delaware Avenue to the city of Albany. The primary goals are to reduce vehicle travel speeds and enhance pedestrian safety.
Lane Modifications: Lane widths will be reduced from 12-14 feet to 11 feet, with the addition of 2-foot shoulders to move vehicles away from the curb and pedestrians on the sidewalk.
Pedestrian Features: A pedestrian refuge island and a mid-block crosswalk near the Salisbury and Snowden Avenue intersection will be added, along with rectangular rapid flashing beacons to alert drivers to pedestrians waiting to cross.
