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Residents urge traffic calming, protected bike lanes and clarity on sustainability review at Fairport board meeting
Summary
Multiple residents asked the board to address speeding and to pilot protected or temporary bike lanes for Cycle the Canal; other commenters urged transparency about a sustainability document that mentioned potential housing ideas, which the board said is only under review.
Several residents used the June 8 citizen forum to press the Village of Fairport to take immediate steps on traffic and active-transportation safety and to ask for more public detail about a sustainability review under consideration.
A resident speaking about conditions on Route 250/South Main Street told the board that drivers frequently travel at excessive speeds and said enforcement under the county contract had produced few speeding arrests in the period their FOIL packet covered. "We're not enforcing the speed limit," the resident said, urging physical traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps and raised intersections.
Elizabeth King (94 Potter Place) and Jenny Mayor (51 Dewey Avenue) proposed infrastructure and event-driven steps to protect bicyclists and pedestrians: raised-box intersections at Potter, narrowing lanes to slow drivers, and temporary one-day protected bike lanes — including suspending on-street parking during the Canal-cycle event to accommodate hundreds of visiting cyclists and give merchants a chance to benefit from increased visitors.
"If we could make Main Street safe for those hundreds of cyclists, they're going to be visiting the village on the canal," Elizabeth King said, urging the board to pilot temporary bike lanes during the upcoming Cycle the Canal event.
Board members acknowledged the ideas and noted that event planning for Cycle the Canal includes shuttle buses and vendor coordination; trustees said work sessions will continue the review of traffic and event logistics. The board also noted planters and hanging baskets for Main Street and that some incorrect signs will be replaced.
On the sustainability document, Pamela Sheldon and Renee Rico expressed worry after seeing an item in a work-session packet that referenced housing and sustainability options. Mayor Damitz and other board members clarified the document under review is an update to the 2010 sustainability plan and is at an early review stage, not an adopted zoning change or rezoning proposal. "We're just going through it right now," the mayor said; trustees said parts of the submission may fall outside the village's scope and that the review will continue over the next two months and in recorded work sessions available on the village YouTube channel.
Next steps: trustees asked staff to continue reviewing traffic-calming and event logistics with the public and to hold further work sessions; residents were advised they may view recorded work sessions on the village website.
