The Syracuse Common Council is seeking more ways to reduce the reliance on using cars to commute to work or simply get around the city. It’s part of a proposal vying for a major $20 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
If councilors approve the pitch, the city’s I-81 Project Director Joe Driscoll says they will present the EPA with a plan for improving pedestrian and bike infrastructure.
“We create create spines, north, south, and east, west, so that no matter what side of the city [you’re] on you can access the other side of the city," Driscoll said. "Our team in the city planning determined that if we focused really hard on a couple of corridors on the west side that would help create equity for the whole city.”
Driscoll says the west side has been left out of protected bike lane planning.
The EPA announced this summer it will award nearly $5 billion through its Community Change Grant program to communities with ambitious, well planned proposals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution.
Driscoll says their proposal will also focus on breaking up heat islands in Syracuse’s long neglected neighborhoods.
“Where heat is most intense, these trees would break it up, provide more shade and cool down the areas and improve air quality overall, particularly providing shade for some of the new Centro BRT spots making sure that those are covered in the summertime.”
BRT is bus rapid transit, which includes two main routes crisscrossing the city with limited stops. It’s expected to be up and running by mid-2026.
Regarding the grant application, the EPA anticipates it will award up to 115 grants, ranging between $2 million and $500 million. Councilors are expected to vote on whether to apply for the grant at Tuesday's meeting. If approved, there’s no cost to the city.
