“Today I had yet another conversation about Genesee Street in Utica, New York with someone who claimed that the city’s ‘main drag’ didn’t need a street diet, or a reduction from four lanes to two and perhaps a turning lane,” writes Arian Horbovetz for The Urban Phoenix, a blog that discusses the elements of urbanism in Upstate New York and beyond. “Street diets have been applied across the country in areas where the traffic count doesn’t justify more than one lane each way. These projects have been shown to increase walking, biking, and even economic growth along the affected corridors. They also make streets safer for pedestrians by slowing traffic and shrinking the distance pedestrians have to walk to cross the street.” “But a street diet isn’t an easy sell. In a car-dominated society, citizens often believe that street diets will cause traffic jams and other issues, though the evidence points to the contrary.” “Let’s look at Schenectady, New York, a city with a population similar to that of Utica. Schenectady’s downtown is based around State Street, a two-lane street densely lined with businesses, a historic theater and an abundance of pedestrian friendly space. State street has a traffic count of 11,200 per day, and two lanes is all it takes to move those cars along at a relatively reasonable speed. As a result of having a narrow street, the sidewalks are huge, with room for trees, benches, bike racks, narrow crosswalks and attractive additives.” “Genesee Street in downtown Utica features between 8,500 and 10,000 cars per day, less than State Street in Schenectady and yet Genesee is the one with four lanes! As a result, there is far less room for pedestrian and cycling amenities that give character to a walking experience in downtown. While Utica is making some solid strides, a street diet would be an ideal way to create a fertile soil for vibrant growth along Genesee.” “Imagine what all of our streets could do with an extra 22 feet of usable space for pedestrian infrastructure and nuance, bike lanes, pop up retail, outdoor patio space for restaurants… the possibilities are endless.”
