On Wednesday, March 28, the Town of Brighton passed a resolution consenting to the use of Monroe County standards (minimum lane width of 10 feet for the center turn lane). The Town of Pittsford previously had passed a similar resolution on March 20.
Since the entire project area is encompassed within the Towns of Brighton and Pittsford, the passage of these resolutions paves the way for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to revise its plan. Currently, NYS DOT plans to implement a “road diet” with two 10-foot travel lanes and an 11-foot center turn lane, leaving room only for 4.5-foot shoulders. NYS DOT highway design standards require a minimum lane width of 11 feet for two-way center turn lanes. This aspect of the NYS DOT standard is in direct conflict with the governing federal standards, which require 1) that bike lanes be at least 5 feet wide, and 2) that projects that contemplate bike lanes must be “future-proof” to 5-foot-wide bike lanes. It is infeasible to widen East Avenue due to the granite curbs in the project area, so narrowing the center turn lane is the only obvious way to resolve the conflict.
