Batavia to close Wilson Street to test rec center traffic

Batavia is going to test whether drivers can live without the extra right lane on Wilson Street west of Island Avenue.

It will be temporarily blocked from starting Monday through Sept. 27 so the city can see how traffic behaves. The test is tied to the potential building of a parking garage, recreation center and stores on the northwest corner of Wilson and Island.

If drivers can live without the lane, there would be more sidewalk space to doodle around with in front of the proposed project. That walk could contain benches, trees and kiosks, and give pedestrians a little more distance from moving vehicles.

A February traffic study showed 10 vehicles turn right from Wilson onto South Water Street during the peak hour in the morning and 40 vehicles turn right during the afternoon/evening peak hour. Video showed the majority of the vehicles turning right on Water were using it as a cut-through to get to Route 31 from Houston Street, avoiding a traffic light at Route 31.

The findings of the experiment will be reported Oct. 12 to the city council's community development committee.

For more information, call the city's engineering department at (630) 454-2000.