Road construction on Court Street in the City of Cortland. (Photo Source: Kevin L. Smith of The Cortland Voice).
City and SUNY Cortland officials have outlined their plans for students to navigate through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and Clinton Avenue Gateway construction projects in Cortland.
“For our internal projects, we put a lot of time and effort into making a smooth transition for students to come back,” said Department of Public Works Superintendent Nic Dovi, as students prepare to return this weekend.
An example of this, Dovi said, is fighting through supply chain issues.
“Today, we are paving Broadway Avenue, so that when the students come back, we're out of that area,” Dovi said. “We have been coordinating with SUNY Cortland staff directly and that seems to be working well.”
On big projects, the city is directly in contact with contractors regarding back-to-school week.
“We're asking the private contractors that we have involved in those ventures to tidy up their work areas — especially for the weekend — a little bit more than they probably do normally,” Dovi said.
Dovi noted there are additional signs to guide out-of-towners into Cortland.
“There are message boards on Interstate-81 to basically better the flow of traffic around the Clinton Avenue area and the Main Street area, from an off-ramp (and) on-ramp standpoint,” Dovi said.
SUNY Cortland officials also recommended routes for families traveling to the city.
“We will be asking families coming from the south to get off at the McGraw exit 10, and those coming from the north to use the Homer exit 12,” SUNY Cortland Director of Communications Frederic Pierce said in an email. “It worked well last year, and we anticipate another smooth move-in weekend.”
Dovi said the rerouted traffic should help State Route 281 handle traffic “a lot better.”
For students moving into residence halls in the middle of campus, traffic will follow a one-way route from Prospect Terrace to Neubig Road on move-in days. Vehicles will not be allowed to enter campus at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Neubig Road.
