BUFFALO, N.Y. — A lot of people have been expressing concerns about the road conditions in North Buffalo, and 2 On Your Side is getting answers from the city.
Charles Roberts just wrote another Buffalo Rising article, crowd-sourcing ideas for making the intersection of Hertel Avenue and Colvin Avenue in North Buffalo safer. This summer, after he wrote his original piece, we found out the city plans on doing a traffic study and installing high visibility crosswalks there.
"Do you have an update on when the high visibility crosswalks will be painted? I would imagine that that's something you'd want to get done before the wintry weather comes," said 2 On Your Side’s Kelly Dudzik.
"That's exactly right, and weather depending, we'll have that done before winter," said Buffalo Commissioner of Public Works Michael Finn.
Finn says the request for the traffic study has been made to the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council. The study will count cars, pedestrians, and bicycles and classify the size of the vehicles.
Roberts says people are also wondering how many lanes Colvin Avenue has.
“Is it one lane? Is it two lanes? And, can it be marked at some point? Whether it be through signage or striping on the road or both," he asks.
"What is the lane situation there at Hertel and Colvin?" asked Dudzik.
"There's a peak hour parking restriction on both sides of Colvin," says Finn. "So, going out of the city northbound, there's no parking between 4 and 6, and there's a similar restriction on the in-bound section southbound from 7 to 9. During those times, two vehicles could fit in there."
Neighbors are also concerned about the intersection of Parkside Avenue and Linden Avenue. You can barely see the lines on the road, and they're also worried about the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
"There's not a single bike lane on Hertel, Parkside, Starin, Amherst, Colvin, and that's a huge shame because we're on the doorstep of an Olmsted-designed park," says Roberts.
So, while there's more to be done, Common Council Member Joel Feroleto tells 2 On Your Side he has requested funds from the city for capital improvements for the intersection of Hertel and Colvin.