GLOVERSVILLE — City officials are considering restriping South Kingsboro Avenue in a bid to get drivers to slow down.
Second Ward Councilman Arthur Simonds spoke with fellow council members Tuesday about a study Creighton Manning did concerning the number of drivers and the average speed on the road.
The city has been looking for ways to slow drivers down on the stretch of road since last year. Creighton Manning Engineering of Albany was hired to do a study on the roadway in 2016.
Prior to hiring Creighton Manning, the city looked at a number of possible changes including sidewalks, lowering the speed limit and curbing.
Police Chief Marc Porter said the study showed the average speed as 32 mph in the 30 mph stretch of road.
He said the top speed clocked on the stretch of road between now and June was 80 mph.
The study showed top travel times on the road were Monday through Friday from 7 to 8 a.m. and 5 to 6 p.m.
Simonds said the striping suggested would be horizontal, creating the appearance that the road is more narrow, ensuring drivers stay further away from the pedestrian lanes, and potentially slow down.
Simonds said the city could also look at new lettering in the space designated for pedestrians to make it clearer that it is for people walking.
“We can take care of most of that in-house,” Simonds said.
Third Ward Councilman Vincent DeSantis said the way the road is designed gives the perception that it is a wider street.
Porter said he would like to see the road lined all the way up to the Fulton street intersection. Currently, roadway lining does not start until the Steele Avenue intersection.
Simonds said he would also like to see the section around Bloomingdale Avenue be patched, since he is concerned about the number of ruts in the roadway that could cause a car to veer into the path of pedestrians.
Department of Public Works Director Dale Trumbull said the line work could be done in-house and his department could start as soon as the city wanted to.
The city has already made some changes to the roadway. Parking was removed from a section near the Park Terrace Elementary School and speed display signs were put up.
The solar powered signs display the speed of passing cars. They were put away for the winter last year, and put up again in the spring on South Kingsboro Avenue and Harrison Street.
This year the signs on South Kingsboro were moved further up the hill, toward the crest and another one added at the bottom of the hill, near Burger King.
Kerry Minor can be reached at [email protected]
