After years of work, the growing city of Saratoga Springs has adopted a planning documentto make the community more walkable and bikeable, while improving public transit.
Complete Streets is a plan that includes programs to make Saratoga Springs friendlier to all forms of transportation: cars, trucks, bikes, walking, and transit.
In the Capital Region, Complete Streets measures have been adopted in Troy, Bethlehem, and Albany.
The effort to bring Complete Streets to Saratoga Springs began in 2012. In 2014, the city’s Complete Streets Committee was reactivated after Mayor Joanne Yepsen assumed office.
A grant was secured from the Capital District Transportation Committee to complete a “linkage study,” which was then used to create a draft plan that included a set of maps of pedestrian paths, bike lanes, and other projects, unveiled last June.
The program ties into other large planning projects including the Comprehensive Plan and the Saratoga Greenbelt Trail.
After revisions, a final plan was adopted unanimously Tuesday night, but not without some conern.
“The concern is the cost.”
Public Works Commissioner Skip Scirocco said he was “wholeheartedly” in support of the plan, but warned the city that the weight of any planning document on city departments should be taken into consideration.
“I think the policy is a work is a progress and I think it needs to continue to be a work in progress until we can iron out those issues,” said Scirocco.
Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan said the plan would likely impact the Public Works and Public Safety departments most heavily.
She likened the plan to a “blueprint” and argued that effective plan would depend on good policy.
“And there may be grant funding that comes down for it, but it still impacts primarily the two larger departments in terms of resources and time, materials, maintenance. And so we just want to make sure we’re planning for it accordingly,” said Madigan.
Not everything in the Complete Streets plan would be big, like a trail or alternate transportation routes. The plan includes simple things like keeping sidewalks clear or putting up a shelter at a bus station. In addition to dollars, it would also take political will.
Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen said while there would be costs associated with the plan, improvements to quality of life would provide a return to the city in the form of rising property values.
“So I think that we need to be aware of the fact that, yes, there are costs involved. But there’s a payback there too,” said Mathiesen.
Mayor Yepsen said the plan allows for sound budgeting.
“Whenever you do a master plan like this it does help you budget because you have anticipated costs because of the plan,” said Yepsen.
