By Lauren Young

Staff Writer

The NYSDOT presented new conceptual designs of the much-anticipated Empire State Trail project at a Dewitt Town Hall open house on March 29.

The $200 million bicycle/pedestrian trail, approved by funding from the 2017-18 state budget, will connect Erie Canal Park in Dewitt with the Erie Canal Park in Camillus — part of a statewide initiative to complete a continuous, 750-mile trail from Albany to Buffalo along the Erie Canal.

Over 100 people attended the open house, as preliminary drawings for the project were available for review with DOT representatives answering questions from the public.

“I think [the event] went very well,” said Sam Gordon, director of planning and zoning in the Town of Dewitt. “It’s been rewarding to be a part of this.”

Gordon said some visitors were residents interested to see what was proposed, others had been following the project since its launch in 2015.

Some residents expressed concern for the reduction of travel lanes, which Gordon assured will “not have a negative impact” on the roads’ level of service. These reductions, such as six lanes of roadway reduced to four lanes on Erie Boulevard and the two-way Towpath Road reduced to a one-way, have been “heavily studied,” said Gordon, citing the DOT’s continuous traffic studies and up-to-date capacity information about the boulevard.

While lanes will be reduced, the number of turning lanes will remain the same. “The reason for that is that it would have a negative impact on transportation’s level of service,” he said.

The Empire State Trail is proposed to cross the Syracuse area by incorporating existing bike lanes and pedestrian trails with new trails to fill gaps within the system. This project will include a road diet — in other words, it will reduce Erie Boulevard by one lane in each direction between Beech and Bridge Streets. Construction for the project is slated for 2019, with completion set for 2020.

The open house featured segments from the region three section of the Empire State Trail, extending from West Water Street in Syracuse to Butternut Drive in Dewitt.

This particular portion of the trail will connect to Onondaga Creekwalk at the intersection of West Water Street and South Franklin Street. From there, it will continue along East Water Street using existing bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. From South Beech Street, the trail will continue along the north side of Erie Boulevard to Teall Avenue. Enhanced signing and striping is planned along the existing trail from South Franklin Street to South Beech Street. Sidewalks will be constructed where needed.

At the Teall Avenue/Erie Boulevard intersection the trail will cross the center of the grassy median and continue along the boulevard from Teall Avenue to Bridge Street. Traffic signals will be upgraded, and sidewalks will be constructed on both sides to accommodate for pedestrian traffic along Erie Boulevard eastbound and westbound.

Extending from the Erie Boulevard/Bridge Street intersection to Towpath Road, Towpath will reduce its two-way road to a one-way with a trail on one side, extending from Celi Drive to Widewaters Parkway. A pedestrian bridge will be built over I-481 between Towpath Road and Butternut Drive. From Butternut Drive, the trail will connect to Erie Canal Park in Dewitt.

The open house was held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and was hosted by the Town of Dewitt. For more information about the project, visit the website at ny.gov/programs/empire-state-trail.