Are you for making downtown streets two-way again? Tell 'em tonight

Rochester's downtown traffic flows smoothly as shown in this screen capture of a You Tube video, that also features the late Red Hayes of RPD directing traffic in his own inimitable way.

ROCHESTER - If you watch a You Tube video of downtown Rochester from the 1960s, you'll see a bustling downtown with every storefront filled and traffic flowing smoothly - believe it or not - on two-way streets.

Whether those streets - including North and South Main, Union and a portion of Wakefield - should be returned to their two-way roots will be among the many topics to be discussed at tonight's public meeting on the city's Transportation Master Plan.

"We may discuss the possibility of the downtown going back to two-way streets," said Jim Campbell, the city's director of planning and development.

Campbell said he's hoping for a big turnout for tonight's meeting which will be held at the Frisbie Memorial Hospital Conference Center.

This will be the second such meeting seeking public input before the transportation steering committee takes its suggestions on implementation to the City Council and Planning Board, Campbell said, adding the more input they can get from the public, the better. Only about 30 showed up for the first meeting held earlier this year.

Other topics likely to come up are the city's recent attempt at "traffic calming" in the downtown which encompassed the painting of bike lanes and other striping intended to slow traffic down, a move that angered some motorists who saw their driving lanes shrink a little.

"That loss was very minimal," Campbell added.

To that point, downtown traffic and road capacity is expected to be a major focus of discussion along with bus routes and railroad crossing safety, especially at the Summer Street crossing where a car was struck earlier this summer.

Campbell said they are also discussing making improvements to the Glenwood Avenue railroad crossing to make that passable again.

Editor's note: To watch an 8mm home video of the late beloved Rochester Traffic Officer Red Hayes humorously directing traffic in the 1960s in his inimitable way click here.