Board approves additional design work for Brighton High entrance after Monroe County DOT backs signal and lane changes

BRIGHTON, N.Y. — The Brighton Central School District Board of Education on April 29 approved a change order to finish detailed design work for a new entrance at Brighton High School, including a traffic signal and a planned “road diet” on Winton Road after the Monroe County Department of Transportation tentatively signed off on the concept.

The district engaged Fisher Associates to design a traffic signal and study safety at the proposed new entranceway. Tim Faulkner, senior transportation manager for Fisher Associates, told the board the county “finally approved the construction of a new traffic signal at the proposed new entranceway” after the consultant presented a traffic and corridor safety analysis.

The move matters because county and district officials said the intersection and lane geometry on Winton Road have contributed to sideswipe and overtaking crashes near the high school. Faulkner said the recommended road diet would reduce the number of travel lanes a pedestrian or turning motorist must cross: “Instead of possibly turning across 2 lanes of traffic, now you're only crossing 1 lane of moving traffic.”

Board members and staff said Monroe County DOT requested the district include the road-diet detailed design as part of signal design so both improvements can be implemented together when construction occurs. The district will seek State Education Department (SED) approval for the school’s entrance and parking-lot reconstruction; district staff said the roadway signal and lane reconfiguration are on county-owned property and therefore fall under the county’s jurisdiction.

District staff described next steps and likely costs. A board member asked whether the road and signal require SED approval; a district official replied, “That's not our understanding right now because that's not our property,” and said the district would contract directly with Monroe County to implement the roadway work. The same staff speaker said the board will need to consider capital planning for the county-led work and recommended a funding source: “my anticipation is to recommend to the superintendent a withdraw from our capital reserves to be able to do that.”

Timelines discussed at the meeting: district staff and consultants expect the school’s capital project (new entrance and parking-lot work) to move forward next summer if SED approval is received. The county-led road work and any eventual bike lanes depend on Monroe County repaving schedules; consultants estimated full repaving and the potential addition of bike lanes could occur in roughly four to five years, while striping and signal work would be coordinated to coincide with the new entrance opening.

Action taken: the board approved a motion to authorize the supplemental design work (the change order) to complete detailed signal and road-diet design. The motion was moved by Karen and seconded by Eleanor; the board approved the motion by voice vote.

What remains: Fisher Associates will complete the detailed roadway overlay drawings, pavement markings and signal design for submittal to Monroe County DOT. The district will continue coordination with Monroe County on jurisdictional approvals and with SED on the capital project for the school property. Officials said a public communication plan for neighbors along Winton Road is planned as designs progress.

Local context: the board said the project will be among the most visible in town because many Brighton residents use Winton Road; the stated goal is to reduce crashes and improve safety for pedestrians, students and drivers near Brighton High School.