Construction of new bike lanes, curbs and pavement on Euclid Avenue is underway, with road work aimed at improving commuter safety to be finished by the start of the fall 2018 semester at Syracuse University.

The project, known as the Euclid Avenue Bike and Pedestrian Network Expansion, was authorized in 2017 to improve roads for the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists in Syracuse, according to a July Common Council agenda.

Joe Alfieri, director of SU’s Division of Campus Planning, Design and Construction, said in an email that the project is designed, managed, approved and paid for by the city. Syracuse’s Department of Public Works started the roadwork in the section of Euclid Avenue between Westcott Street and Comstock Avenue on July 5. Alfieri said the road work should be finished before students move in for the fall 2018 semester.

Roadwork includes painting designated bike lanes on both sides of the street, according to a project fact sheet posted by DPW. These bike lanes will connect Westcott Street and Comstock Avenue.

Designated street parking will only be available on one side of the street.

Construction crews will also repave streets in the neighborhood and build sidewalks that are easily accessible for people with disabilities, according to Syracuse.com.

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Cars traveling on some of the streets to the east of SU will be directed through new traffic patterns because of the renovations. Drivers traveling to SU’s Main Campus from the south will be forced onto Ostrom Avenue via Euclid instead of Comstock Avenue, according to an SU News release.  

“The university supports efforts to improve bicyclist safety through the rebuilding of roads that lead to our campus,” Alfieri said.

Melissa Fierke, an associate professor at SUNY-ESF and member of BikeCNY, a local organization that advocates for cyclists’ rights, said she’s been working to build bike lanes on Euclid Avenue since 2011.

Bergmann Associates, an architecture and engineering firm, found that more than 200 bicyclists travel through Euclid Avenue every day, according to Syracuse.com.

“It’s probably the most cycled street in the city,” Fierke said.

Fierke said parking on both sides of the road often pushed cyclists into car traffic because there wasn’t enough room for bikes, especially when roads were congested during rush hour.

Fierke started an advocacy group called Euclid Bike Lanes to gather support for the project from neighborhood groups, including the Westcott Neighborhood Association and Southeast University Neighborhood Association. The group also created a petition arguing that parking on both sides of the road, unclear road markings and a lack of bike lanes made Euclid Avenue unsafe for commuters.

More than 1,000 residents signed the petition, according to the DPW project fact sheet.

The Euclid Avenue project is a part of Syracuse Bike Plan, an initiative to improve bike infrastructure throughout the city. The plan stemmed from the Complete Streets mandate passed by the New York state Legislature and from a 2008 Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council report, according to the city of Syracuse’s website. Funding for the project came from the state’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program, according to Syracuse.com.

Fierke said she hopes to have an inaugural ride on the new bike lanes on Aug. 31.

“With actual infrastructure on Euclid, I think we’re going to have a huge jump in the number of people out there cycling,” she said.

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Published on August 11, 2018 at 4:37 pm

Contact Micah: mjcastel@syr.edu