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Council committee advances Lorraine Road design RFP after consultant outlines road-diet option
Summary
City consultants presented a design plan and funding options for a multi-million-dollar Lorraine Road overhaul that would shrink some sections from four lanes to a three‑lane "road diet," add parking and pedestrian bump-outs, and use $2.3M (urban paving) and $1.9M (CMAQ) already secured; the committee voted unanimously to send Ordinance 26-26 to final reading.
City consultants told the Fairview Park environment, public works, planning, zoning and development committee on June 8 that they would synthesize prior corridor studies into a single final design and recommended a road-diet in parts of Lorraine Road to calm traffic and improve pedestrian safety. Anthony Pizzinelli of American StructurePoint said the design work would build on the 2013 master-plan update, a NOACA TLCI corridor study and a 2019 corridor study, and focus on multimodal access and corridor aesthetics.
"The city secured $2,300,000 in urban paving and then $1,900,000 in CMAQ," Pizzinelli said, describing the current funding picture and the local match requirement. Consultants presented a notional cost estimate of about $6.6 million that included resurfacing, 10 signal upgrades and pedestrian bump-outs; the city has about $4.2 million currently identified, leaving a local-share gap that staff said they would seek to close with additional grants or local sources.
The traffic analysis presented by Ben Morgan of American StructurePoint highlighted 281 crashes in the corridor over five years (one fatality and a 27% injury rate) and said a three‑lane typical section (one travel lane each way plus a two‑way left-turn lane) would reduce crash conflict points and lower speeds in the core downtown segments. Morgan said some intersections, most notably the Worcester Road junction, would require spot improvements or different treatments to preserve acceptable peak-period operation.
Council members pressed consultants on sight-distance at odd-angle cross streets, the effect of on‑street parking on visibility, signal coordination and emergency vehicle preemption. Consultants said the alternatives assume signal coordination (radio interconnect and retiming) and that some safety/design issues—like stop-bar locations, short curb bump-outs and possible right-in/right-out restrictions—would be resolved during final design and right-of-way review.
After the presentation and an extended Q&A, the committee chair moved to place Ordinance 26-26 on third reading and for final passage; the motion passed unanimously. Staff said the next steps are issuing an RFP for final design, selecting a consultant and beginning preliminary design, with construction currently targeted in fiscal year 2029.
