Changes coming to intersection of East First Avenue and Broad Street

The Latest Local News from the Rome News

Rome public works officials said Wednesday they will move forward with a plan to simplify the traffic lane configuration at a downtown intersection.

The westbound lanes of East First Avenue at Broad Street are going to be redesignated. The left lane will be used for turning left or going straight, while the right lane will be only for cars turning right onto Broad.

Vehicles now must be in the right lane to continue across Broad and onto West First Street, but staffers said the street is aligned better with the left lane.

“The position of the westbound lanes means people have to basically dog-leg across Broad Street to go through,” Assistant Public Works Director Steven Foy told the city’s Public Works Committee on Wednesday.

He said they could make the change either by re-doing the pavement markings on East First or installing an overhead sign to show the revised lane configuration.

“I think we can effectively show the changes we’re thinking about making without spending a lot of money,” Foy said.

Rome Public Services Director Kirk Milam said the issue about the uneven crossing was raised by a local business owner.

Rome police Lt. Chris DeHart with the Selective Enforcement Unit asked if there could be a restriction placed on the right turn lane so vehicles could not turn right on red.

Milam said they would look into it and continue to talk with police about the lane shift. In other business, Rome Street Director Chris Jenkins explained which North Rome streets will receive sidewalk improvements through federal grant money.

Almost $300,000 from Rome’s Community Development Block Grant allocation will be used to renovate sidewalks along neighborhood roads in the low-income area.

“We’ll focus on handicap-accessible ramps at street corners, while also finding and replacing the worst portions of sidewalk,” Jenkins said.

The plan includes sidewalks along Calhoun Avenue, Kingston Avenue, Copeland Street, and Callahan Street.

Jenkins said the work would be done in two phases, with the first one starting later this year. Phase One will be completed with $140,000 from Rome’s 2014 CDBG allocation, while the second phase will be paid for with $150,000 from the city’s 2015 CDBG allocation.

Source: Rome News

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