For Immediate Release: November 21, 2013
Media Inquiries: Ben Dublin, 435-3516
SYRACUSE, NY – Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney today announced that Onondaga County has completed two major road reconstruction projects incorporating green infrastructure as part of part of the Save the Rain, the County’s program to clean Onondaga Lake by reducing pollution caused by stormwater runoff as a required by a Federal Amended Consent Judgment (ACJ).
“We successfully completed two more significant Save the Rain projects this month,” said County Executive Joanie Mahoney. “Westcott Street and West Onondaga Street are not only more beautiful but they are workhorses taking 6.5 million gallons of stormwater out of our system every year. People from all over America are coming to Onondaga County to see our cutting edge work and I am very proud of the whole Save the Rain team.”
The Westcott Street project is a complete street redevelopment in the Westcott Street business district between Dell Street and Concord Place. The project was originally identified by a neighborhood master plan developed by community residents and businesses in the 1990’s. The green street features several technologies including: curb extensions, tree pits and the use of porous pavement in the parking lanes. In addition to the installation of green infrastructure features, the corridor has been completely transformed to improve safety through traffic calming, shorter pedestrian crosswalk distances, and discourage illegal parking. Now that the county has completed of green feature installations, the City of Syracuse will reconstruct the roadway along the project limits in the coming spring. The project will capture an estimated 1 million gallons of stormwater annually. Full project details are available at: www.savetherain.us/westcott-street/.
The West Onondaga Street Green Gateway Project is a complete street renovation between Shonnard Street and South Avenue. The new gateway illustrates the County’s strong collaboration with the City of Syracuse and features several green infrastructure elements including: curb extensions, underground infiltration trenches, planter boxes and tree plantings. In addition to green features, the corridor improves safety with a revised traffic pattern, dedicated bike lanes, and improvements to pedestrian crosswalk areas. In total, the project will capture more than 5.5 million gallons of stormwater runoff annually. Full project details are available at www.savetherain.us/west-onondaga/.
The road reconstruction projects were developed through a collaborative partnership between Onondaga County, the City of Syracuse and local neighborhood businesses and residents. Several public meetings were held in both communities, to address concerns and provide updates on the construction schedules.
About Save the Rain:
Save the Rain is Onondaga County’s comprehensive stormwater management program to reduce pollution to Onondaga Lake and its tributaries by preventing sewer overflow events using a combination of green and gray infrastructure solutions. Since 2009, the Save the Rain program has developed several gray infrastructure projects and over 120 green infrastructure projects throughout the City of Syracuse. Onondaga County is recognized as a national leader in the implementation of green infrastructure and recently received the coveted US Water Prize Award from the US Water Alliance for the Save the Rain program.
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