The Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission today said that an online petition to make South Virginia Street in Midtown one way for vehicles will not come to fruition.
The street’s new designs have already been submitted to the feds and were approved in June. Federal dollars for the project are to be used on the approved design.
One-way vehicle traffic during construction, heading south, with its ample parking, therefore won’t be permanent, RTC officials indicated in a email today.
“The risks to change the project design at this time are too significant and severe to be implemented.”
“Changing designs and construction plans at this juncture would create significant impacts to the completion of the project, including increased financial costs, project delays, and additional NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) and environmental analysis,” according to RTC. “We are too far along in the design and construction process to make major changes and at this time, the infrastructure is in place to facilitate future two-way traffic only as envisioned in the final design.”
Midtown business owners have testified that the one-way traffic has been beneficial.Â
“The temporary parking spots installed to mitigate the impacts during construction have provided additional access to businesses in Midtown,” RTC officials explained. “But the risks to change the project design at this time are too significant and severe to be implemented.
“When construction is completed, the RTC, working with the City of Reno and the business stakeholders, will take a look at the parking management and supply issues to develop possible solutions beyond what has already been considered as part of this project.”
Utility construction is expected to be complete in March 2019 and the next phase of construction is scheduled to start in the summer.
Never Miss a Story
Support truly local journalism by subscribing to our newsletter. It’s free, and you may unsubscribe at any time. We are locally owned and operated.
