Proposed changes to the Route 11 commercial corridor could include a roundabout, crosswalks, a boardwalk through the wetlands west of the village and better lighting. Photo submitted.

North Country This Week

POTSDAM — Civil engineering consultants from Clarkson are recommending what they call the “most robust” pedestrian safety enhancements to the Route 11 commercial corridor with a total potential cost of up to $12.9 million initially and $56,000 annually.

The final study by the Clarkson Construction Engineering Management Consulting Group (C3G) on potential pedestrian and traffic safety improvements on the Route 11 corridor between the village and the Walmart and Tractor Supply plazas is now complete.

The municipalities and the Health Initiative paid the group $16,000 to study the corridor, which was identified in the town's 2020 comprehensive plan as being ill equipped to accommodate frequent non-motorized traffic to the shopping plazas, and risky to pedestrians there.

"Those without cars are particularly at risk in certain areas not designed for pedestrians. One example is the shopping areas about 1.5 miles south of the Village on Route 11. Pedestrians can often be seen walking on the shoulder of this busy section of highway, crossing the four-lane bridge over the railroad and crossing at the stoplight at the intersection of the entrances to the two shopping areas. Safe travel along this corridor necessitates the use of a car, which some cannot afford or access," the comprehensive plan said.

Erik Backus, the C3G group’s academic advisor, presented the final report to the village board of trustees earlier this month and was on the agenda to present to the town board at their meeting Tuesday, Dec. 12.

The study used extensive field survey work in the summer of 2022, including a traffic count; public outreach, a design charrette, surveys; and a peer review by Complete Streets expert Dan Burden to identify the corridors weak points and needs.

Proposed safety improvements focus on separation of pedestrians walking and biking to the plazas from motorized traffic on Route 11.

The group ultimately developed three levels of changes, most robust, moderately robust and least robust.

The final recommendation of the group calls for the municipalities to go with the most robust level of improvements. On the list would be improved lighting and crossings, additional bus shelters, shared use path adjacent to the roadway with a boardwalk along the wetlands portions just west of the village, and roundabouts and a roadway extension on Morley-Potsdam Road. An additional bike lane would be installed, along with the shared use trail.

Other additions would be an additional crosswalk and sidewalk added at Clarkson's back entrance and a footpath made to the shared use path past the university's campus.

However, the changes would not come cheap.

Total cost for the short-term changes would be $12,960,000, the final report said.

That cost is broken down further with $3.2 million for the Morley-Potsdam Road realignment, $3.8 million for the boardwalk along the south side of Route 11, $700,000 for Route 11 improvements in the town section, $5 million for the installation of a roundabout at the Maple/Pine/Sandstone/Clarkson Avenue intersection (a nexus which draws a large amount of public criticism for long light waits and traffic patterns), and $260,000 for improvements on Route 11 in the village.

The project costs are based on 2021 state DOT cost estimates.

According to the report, the cost would be shared with $5,330,000 paid by the village, $7,630,000 paid by the town and $80,000 paid by Clarkson University.

After the short-term project costs, there would be ongoing annual maintenance costs to be borne by the municipalities.

Winter village sidewalk cleaning would cost $4,250. Winter boardwalk and shared use path clearing would cost $4,250. Cleaning up around newly installed barriers is estimated to be as high as $38,000 a year. Overtime for winter boardwalk and shared use cleaning could be $3,300 and overtime hours for cleaning up around the barriers adds in another $6,200.

Total annual costs of the improvements could potentially be $56,000.

The report indicates that the cost would require federal and state grants to help ease taxpayer burden.  

And, the work could take as long as a year if the various smaller portions of the project run concurrently. According to the report, the Morley-Potsdam realignment would be 8-10 months, the boardwalk installation 3-5 months, Route 11 improvements in the town 5-7 months, the roundabout at the Maple/Pine/Sandstone/Clarkson Avenue intersection could last between 9 and 12 months, and improvements in the village on Route 11 could take 3-5 months.

To read more about the changes proposed by the C3G group, visit https://sites.google.com/clarkson.edu/c3g-route-11-potsdam/home .