OSWEGO – Heavy construction to redesign East First Street between State Route 104 and East Cayuga Street is expected to begin after Labor Day next week, according to Mayor Billy Barlow, the same construction that will temporarily impact traffic flow and parking in the area.
The construction itself started approximately a week ago, as Barlow said but was merely quiet site prep such as roadcuts and markings. Moving forward with construction, it is expected to take up all of September and into October. While it will be a tall task, the city hopes to have it completed by October 6, the start of this year’s Super DIRT Week at the Oswego Speedway.
“The contract requires everything to be done by October 31, but we are pushing the contractor to get started and get finished as soon as possible,” Barlow said. “With DIRT Week taking place in the middle of October, we would like to have things wrapped up by then. At the same time, I know there is a bit of a concern about the materials that this project involved because COVID with shipping delays and demands. We have to weigh that too with the contractor.”
He said getting the work at least substantially complete is critical given the amount of people coming into the city for the event and staying in the hotels along East First Street.
Ultimately the goal of the new design of East First Street is not to alleviate traffic – since traffic is not much of an issue on that block – but rather use the space more efficiently. He said with four lanes across the two directions, it makes it harder for pedestrians to feel welcome, something that Barlow wants to change.
“For me it’s the atmosphere and the feel of it,” Barlow said. “I think by reducing the flow of traffic and creating more space for pedestrians vs. vehicles, you are encouraging people to be out and about [and] to walk out of the hotel to some of the businesses.”
Barlow added that he hopes the redesign extends what people consider downtown to include East First Street and some of the businesses in that area.
The feel that Barlow alluded to is something that the West side already has along West First Street. Prior to projects completed on the West side, businesses there had similar issues to Steamers, Alex’s on the Water and other storefronts on the East side.
“People on West First Street, South of [Route] 104 would not cross to get to the North side of 104, and the small business owners referred to where they were as the ‘dead zone of downtown.’ After we did some of our DRI projects … you are seeing people crossing [Route] 104 and getting to the other side,” Barlow said. “That’s identical to the issue we have over on East First Street, and I think this will help with that issue.”
Another issue that the city foresaw when planning the construction was the increasing demand for parking. With parking already at a premium and new additions to the East side on the way, such as the water park, the diagonal parking will add more spots than before.
While lanes of traffic will be cut in half, that is not expected to impact the flow of traffic, according to Barlow. The city worked on a traffic study, and based on the volume of cars, they should be able to pass through fairly easily.
“It’s not so much about reducing or restricting traffic in the area because big trucks will still be able to go through and the number of cars, we did a traffic study on the street, and the number of cars will still be able to go through,” Barlow said. “We aren’t looking to reduce traffic, we are looking to calm traffic.”
