Batavia's Houston Street turn lane eliminated for sidewalk, bicycle lane
Drivers looking to get out of downtown Batavia will be a little more restricted after Houston Street is rebuilt from Island Avenue to Batavia Avenue this summer.
They will lose the dedicated right-turn lane on westbound Houston at Batavia Avenue (Route 31), to make way for a sidewalk and a bicycle lane on the north side of the street.
The city council approved the measure Monday night and threw another possibility in to the mix: Prohibiting through traffic and left turns from westbound Houston.
Currently, there is a narrow sidewalk on the south side of Houston; the streetscape improvement plan called for adding a 6-foot sidewalk on the north side.
“We are trying to create a more walkable community and a more safe walkable community,” City Engineer Noel Basquin said.
Batavia police officers, however, were leery of the plan. Houston is what they use to get from the Batavia Government Center to emergency calls on the northwest side of Batavia, so city engineers suggested also adding a 5-foot bicycle lane. When police are going to an emergency call, other vehicles could pull to the right, into the bicycle lane, to let them pass. They tested this, and it seemed to work, according to Basquin and Police Chief Gary Schira.
Schira, however, is still not convinced that squad cars won't have to veer in to the oncoming lane to pass backed-up vehicles.
“In a perfect world, if people are all paying attention, a squad car can fit through,” Schira said. “I'm in a world where things don't go as planned.”
Going into the eastbound lane is especially problematic at Batavia Avenue — there is a tight turn for cars going from northbound Batavia Avenue onto Houston. Those drivers wouldn't be able to see a squad car until it is too late, so the city plans to reconfigure the corner.
The bicycle lane and sidewalk are intended to encourage people who live on the northwest side to walk and cycle to the downtown area.
North Jefferson Street resident Francine Popeck, who served on a committee that helped design the streetscape project, said Batavia Avenue (a four-lane state truck route) is a “moat” that discourages people from walking downtown.
Several aldermen and Mayor Jeff Schielke also discussed how, if there are two cars side-by-side, they make blind spots for each other. The mayor suspects that even with the elimination of the turn lane, people will find a way to squeeze through to make a right turn, rather than waiting behind someone who is making a left turn or going straight. So the council gave the police department authority, if safety warrants, to make the westbound leg a right turn-only intersection.
“It's a game of who's edging out further, and a game of chicken of who is going to cut you off at the knees,” Popeck said.
When traffic is heavy on westbound Wilson, drivers often cut over to Houston to avoid the traffic light at Batavia Avenue.
Schielke spoke of his hope for another eventual improvement at the intersection: Persuading the state to install dedicated left-turn lanes on Batavia Avenue.