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Albany To Unveil Its “Complete Streets” Manual On Tuesday

Albany To Unveil Its “complete streets” Manual On Tuesday

Tomorrow, the public gets a first look at Albany's long-awaited "Complete Streets" design manual, which sets guidelines for the creation and installation of sidewalks, cycling infrastructure, crosswalks, road diets, traffic calming measures and more.

Proponents of "Complete Streets" say the manual lays the groundwork to make Albany accessible to all citizens, whatever their preferred mode of transportation, requiring that city roadways accommodate all users.  In the Capital Region, Troy, Bethlehem, and Albany have adopted Complete Streets resolutions, and Saratoga Springs just unveiled a draft of its plan. 

Albany’s manual has been in the making since last fall, when a public meeting to gather input was held at The Linda on Central Avenue. Mayor Kathy Sheehan said at that time the manual would serve as a guide for all future construction, reconstruction and resurfacing projects within the city.     "This is something that was really started by the Common Council back in 2013, and it recognizes that if we want to have a healthy, vibrant city, we've gotta make sure that we accommodate everybody who uses our streets, regardless of their age, their ability."

Kate Lawrence, Senior Planner and Sustainability Coordinator for the city of Albany, says consultants evaluated existing streets.  "They looked at the streets using equipment that was able to accurately determine street width and the measurements of other features on the street. So once they did that, then they started looking at types of street typologies and crafting a policy and sign manual that was able to address all of these typologies and the types of treatment to be used ideally for these streets to make them accessible for all users."

Sheehan believes the manual will help push the Albany 2030 comprehensive plan agenda, and the result: Albany will thrive.   "When you look around, not just the country but the world, as liveable walkable cities, they've gotten this right. They have the balance between cars and pedestrians and cyclists in good balance, and I believe and those who are proponents of this believe that it drives more business to the city (no pun intended there) but that it creates more opportunity in a city when you have streets that take into account all of the users."

Lawrence urges the public to come to Tuesday night's meeting at the main branch of the Albany Public Library: "We'd love them to attend and to read the guide book and to see whether or not it sort of fits their expectations. Just because the guidebook has been created doesn't mean that all the streets in Albany will be suddenly changed, so as streets are improved with available funding, these treatments will be taken into consideration."

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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