Portions of South Clinton Avenue and East Broad Street that have long been one-way streets, are being converted to two-way traffic starting Thursday.
Commissioner of The Department of Environmental Services, Norman Jones, says as more people live in downtown Rochester it's important to make some changes to its infrastructure to make it easier for people to get around.
"Without having all these one-ways and dead ends. We are changing our population. Our population has changed and our downtown population has changed. So we made the decision to make sure it's easier to get around our downtown," he said.
Jones says the city's transportation used to be based on getting people into and out of downtown as quickly as possible.
He says that's not the case anymore.
As for motorists, there may be some delays while the work is being done.
"Just be patient. We're going to have flag folks out there, and we need to have time to have those street markings to adhere to the pavement. You'll grow accustomed to the new traffic flow and it's going to be something that's positive," he said.
Jones says converting a portion of South Avenue to two-way traffic is part of the next phase of this project.
The city is detailing restriping activities and the work that's involved:
Re-striping activities will take place on the roadways at South Clinton Avenue from I-490 to East Main Street; and East Broad Street from South Clinton Avenue to South Avenue on Thursday, Oct. 18. Motorists may experience delays while this work is being completed, however significant effort will be made to minimize any delays.
Once striping is completed:
• East Broad Street will be open to two-way traffic between South Avenue and South Clinton Avenue;
• South Clinton Avenue will be open to two-way traffic between East Main Street and East Broad Street; and
• South Clinton Avenue will remain one-way from I-490 to East Broad Street.
Workers will be in place at both ends of the new two-way sections of the streets to guide traffic and will remain in place for one hour following the striping. At that point, motorists will need to follow the traffic signals and striping.
The rain date for this work is Friday.