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What is the Preferred Future? |
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WHAT IS THE PREFERRED FUTURE? The Preferred Future seeks to intensify land use along the Corridor as a means to stimulating the revitalization of Corridor communities and to support continued investment in the Corridor's transportation system. For developed land this means ensuring that parcels are being used efficiently and that they area generating wealth for the local economy. Land uses which work in concert with each other help to synergize economic vitality. Strong transportation provisions, pedestrian networks, vibrant urban neighborhoods, and infrastructure improvements also fuel the revitalization of neighborhoods. It is critical that Central Avenue and State Street be reconnected––economically, spatially, and socially––to the neighborhoods which make up the Corridor. Vacant or underutilized parcels along the Corridor create opportunities for infill development or the reuse of buildings to support these goals. This intensification of land use also creates open space opportunities both for the creation of parks as civic and recreational open space, and the preservation of sensitive habitats.
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The Preferred Scenario provides Corridor users with more choice in transportation (transit, walking, and bicycling, as well as driving), places to live, places to work, and places to shop. Intensification of land use at key points along the Corridor work together with roadway improvements to increase economic activity while improving local and regional access and minimizing future congestion. A Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system will bring high-quality rail-like service to the corridor with lower capital and operating costs when compared to light-rail. Bus Rapid Transit also functions better within the Corridor's existing built environment. BRT provides the flexibility to address limited street widths in urbanized areas of Albany and Schenectady, and allows buses from "outside" the Corridor to directly access the BRT's stations. Vacant and underutilized parcels located in optimum locations around transit stations are aggressively reconfigured to optimize development potential. The surrounding land use and transportation improvements along with revitalization efforts in their downtown cores ensure that Albany and Schenectady continue to lend stability to the region and the Corridor. Key sites in Colonie and Niskayuna are opportunities for creating Regional Mixed-Use Districts with regional retail and opportunities for employment uses and residential neighborhoods. Central Avenue and State Street neighborhoods in all Corridor communities will offer safe, high-quality housing along the Corridor. Roadway improvements, reduced curb cuts, dedicated transit ways and other systems improve the flow of traffic and allow bus service to be less affected by traffic congestion. Site configuration recommendations, such as interconnected parking lots also help to reduce street congestion. Roadway improvements are balanced with the pedestrian's need for effective crosswalks, and links between transit and surrounding neighborhoods that better connect the Corridor to the community. Bicycle improvements on Route 5 or parallel roads allow bicycling to become a more viable mode of transportation. |
Buildings front directly onto the street and comfortable sidewalks and pedestrian areas increase foot traffic in retail areas, make the neighborhoods more livable, and make community centers more accessible. Increased pedestrian activity, and windows and building entries fronting directly onto the street, create a community-oriented quality and natural citizens' surveillance.
Most critically, the Preferred Future Scenario presents a unified vision that can be supported by each of the jurisdictions along the Corridor and thereby promises to reconnect the Corridor to the communities which depend on it, and to reinforce the communities' connection to each other. A complete "tour" of the Preferred Future may be viewed here as a pdf (Adobe Acrobat) file (2.5 MB). |
