TROY — A $5.8 million plan would transform the city’s downtown Federal Street corridor from a wide arterial into a more traditional roadway anchored by two roundabouts at the Green Island Bridge on the west and at Sixth Avenue on the east, according to the Federal Street Corridor Study recommendations.
The redesign of the 1,000-foot-long Federal Street so that it creates a bookend by the roundabouts would reduce the number of travel lanes in the arterial from four to two — with one in each direction, instead of the current two in each direction — reducing waiting times by an estimated 15 to 20 seconds. It also calls for installing a median of trees and remaking the roadway so that it reflects the surrounding streets.
“The city really wanted a gateway. We have a piece of infrastructure in a downtown environment that was from a different time in a different era,” Sandy Misiewicz, executive director of the Capital District Transportation Committee, said Thursday.
The study was sponsored by Troy and CDTC, which is the regional transportation planning agency for Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga (except for Moreau and South Glens Falls) and Schenectady counties. Creighton Manning and Alta did the study work.
“With the neighborhood so unified in calling for upgrades to Federal Street, I look forward to reviewing and approving an action plan based on this study that brings needed quality of life improvements to our families,” Mayor Patrick Manning said.
The new appearance will be reminiscent of the South Broadway boulevard feel by Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs, Misiewicz said. The west end of Federal Street in Troy is considered to be a gateway for entering the city from Albany County via the Green Island Bridge across the Hudson River.
The study proposed two options. One was to leave the Federal Street corridor alone and…
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