Ithaca Builds

Mapping, photos and information for Ithaca construction and development projects

Tag Archives: civic

The Scenes Down on the Commons

September 23, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Here are some shots of the Commons taken today and last week. The new piping for the main water line has been one of the major focuses this past week as the lateral connections off the water main are connected to the portions of the new water main, more telecommunication work continues to free those sections up, and the contractors will begin with final flushing and pressure testing this week.
All the work being done until winter is concerned with the center section of the Commons, so once all the utility work is completed, all the pavers and center section amenities will go in. Come Spring 2014, the sidewalks adjacent to private properties will be opened-up and worked on.

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Lake Street Bridge Work Planned, Old Elmira Road Delayed

September 18, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

The City of Ithaca has announced a $1.464 million capital project to replace the deck and refurbish the structure of the Lake Street Bridge (the first bridge after Ithaca Falls, behind the high school) with an 80% reimbursement from the Federal Highway Administration, and a 15% reimbursement from the NYS Department of Transportation.

In other civic news, the primary work for the Old Elmira Road complete street project has been delayed until next year.

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State & Mitchell Intersection Curbs and Sidewalks

September 12, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Western curb was put in about a week ago, and now the eastern curb, eastern sidewalk, and most of the new western sidewalk is in place. Next up we should see finished hardscape, decals and pop-up for the lanes and bicycle jug handle, some prep work for running electric service, and the raising of the new traffic light poles.

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Commons Rebuild Utility Work

September 7, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Just a few snapshots of the scene on the Commons as of a few days ago- the old water main has begun change-out work, and next week the sanitary line replacement work will start as well. The sanitary sewer is being replaced along Bank Alley, and in front of the former Race Office Supply building, and all other areas are to be re-lined. The Commons Project Updates Site contains a nice primer on this upcoming week.

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State & Mitchell New Curb Placement and Traffic Joy

September 4, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

The western curb and lane of the State & Mitchell Intersection has been dug-out, filled-in with asphalt, and the new curb put in place. The sidewalk along the new curb is still open for pedestrians, so you can get a good glimpse at the work going on. The traffic flow is clearly a lot more jammed than usual, but when the work is all done it will be a much more efficient and safe intersection than it was before. The planned traffic lights will form an “L-shape” along and perpendicular to East State Street, allowing for turning traffic flows from the West and North, and traffic flow from East to West and vice versa. See the plan overlay on an aerial image in this previous post, along with traffic data.

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Commons Rebuild Phase Two Boots on the Ground

August 28, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

As the Commons Rebuild site announced a couple weeks ago, Phase Two of the rebuild has kicked-off, amidst a slight delay due to atypical-size piping of the 100 year old water main, and telecom lines running directly above sanitary lines discovered in the Bank Alley section. This phase of the project was awarded to Vacri Construction, General Contractors out of Binghamton, NY, although telecom and non-municipal utility providers will be working alongside on their new services.

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State & Mitchell Intersection Begins Work

August 22, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Apologies for the spectacularly bad photos here, however, the State and Mitchell Intersection has begun work, as the Ithaca Journal noted a few days ago. Just in time for students coming back, so hopefully the traffic flow will be well-directed.

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State & Mitchell Intersection: Final Design

August 14, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

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Here’s the final design for construction documents for the State & Mitchell intersection. This will surely be a major transit enhancement for this area, and I hope to continue to see more civic transportation projects that account for pedestrian and cyclist safety (noting the recent cyclist fatality on Warren Road). Ithacans tend to walk, bike or ride public transit to work at drastically higher rates than the State and US averages, so taxpayers should expect to see their money spent on projects that benefit their transit choices, especially since these transit options are less polluting and resource-intensive.
The bids for this project were due-in back on July 3rd, so we should probably be hearing some news on timing soon.

State & Mitchell Intersection Images and Traffic Data

July 27, 2013 // by Jason Henderson

Out of all the intersections in Ithaca, this is probably one of the most commonly misunderstood. The yield sign applying to traffic inbound from Route 79 is often mistaken as applying to inbound traffic from Mitchell, and inbound traffic from Route 79 often mistakes left-turning traffic outbound onto Mitchell as not having the right-of-way to turn.

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Congestion is a clear issue during rush hours. Take a look at the plan overlay and the traffic count data. Over 17,000 automobile trips per day occur at this intersection, so it’s becoming vital to redevelop. In addition, cyclists and pedestrians have a tough time fighting traffic at this section. The sheer amount of traffic makes crossing the street as a pedestrian a challenge, and although there’s a bike route, taking the left turn at Mitchell on a bike is dangerous. The bicycle “jug handle” is a common design to separate cycling traffic for the purpose of turning. The idea is to separate bikes that are turning from bikes that are not turning, as well as from automobiles. See the last image in this post for a high-capacity example.

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State and Mitchell Redesign Plans

July 22, 2013 // by James Douglas

Final design (Plan 2B) approved back in February has been posted, but here were the alternative designs for this project.  The Ithaca Times article from January has a discussion about the plans, noting the significance in moving this forward due to the Collegetown Terrace project.

 

Plan1.a

Plan 1A

Plan1.b

Plan 1B

Plan2.a

Plan 2A