Sawdey Way, a new street with "green" features connects Emerson and Locust Streets.
Where will the new street be located?
The City's Department of Environmental Services (DES) will be managing the construction of a new residential street that will connect Emerson Street and Locust Street approximately at the mid-point between Dewey Avenue and Fulton Avenue. The new street and right-of-way (publicly-owned space like pavement, curbing, sidewalks, etc) will occupy the currently vacant City-owned parcels located at 198 Emerson Street, 45 Locust Street, and 47 Locust Street. The structures on all three parcels have been demolished.
The new street will have curbs, sidewalks, street lighting, street trees, and a water main.
Why build a new street?
In 2007, the Rochester Police Department and Sector 3 neighborhood group recommended a cross street be constructed between Locust Street and Emerson Street in order to enhance public safety delivery in the area. Currently, Locust Street is approximately a half mile-long thoroughfare that runs from Dewey Avenue to Fulton Avenue. As a result of this long, uninterrupted stretch of street, both police and fire service delivery are negatively impacted since it takes longer for responders to arrive at scenes.
An ancillary benefit of installing a new street is that the water main on the new street will connect the existing watermains on Emerson and Locust Streets, improving fire-fighting flows for both streets and adding redundancy to the watermains in the area.
"Greening" the street
This street will incorporate eco-friendly features such as porous pavement, rain gardens, and bio-swales. These "green" components will utilize either special materials or natural vegetation to act as sediment filters. When it rains or snows, flowing sediments and pollutants will be captured by the pavement, rain garden, and swales before they can find their way into our sewer system.
Funding for the project is being provided by NYSDEC and the City of Rochester.
Project timeline
Preliminary Design: July- September 2011
Final Design: October 2011- January 2012
Bid & Award: February- April 2012
Construction: May- December 2012
Project Documents
Conceptual Drawings
Preliminary Design Engineering Documents (35% completion)
Questions?
If you have questions about the project, please contact City project manager, Ms. Lisa Reyes, at (585) 428-6354, or email her.