Officials in Rutland have greenlit plans to change how traffic flows on two of the city’s busiest streets.
Woodstock Avenue and North Main Streets — Routes 4 and 7 in Rutland — currently have two lanes in either direction.
The new traffic pattern will reduce lanes in each direction to one, with a shared center turning lane.
Rutland City Mayor Michael Doenges says the changes will reduce the high number of left-turn accidents and slow drivers.
A similar design was tried briefly on Woodstock Avenue in 2014. But Doenges says that effort, which didn’t last, was not well-executed.
"These roads are 35 mph roads, and they are constantly being traveled at well over 50 mph," Doenges said. "That's not appropriate for our community.”
Doenges says traffic lights will be reconfigured and bike lanes added, which will make the roads more user friendly to cyclists and pedestrians.
The changes will be paid for by the state and go into effect next year.
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