Education District Enhancement Study

The City of Albany, the University at Albany and The College of Saint Rose will partner to study Albany’s Midtown Education District through a $95,000 grant from the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC). The grant is funded through CDTC’s Community and Transportation Linkage Planning Program, one of the most significant cooperative regional efforts in the nation.

The District, which lies between The College of Saint Rose and the University at Albany’s Downtown Campus, is home to and used by thousands of students, a strong core of homeowners and dozens of local businesses. The City will work with the University and College with the goal of improving the connectivity and safety of the education district and to create a safe, welcoming and vibrant activity center.

The initial call for coordination within the District came with the City’s 2005 Midtown Colleges and University District Plan, which covered a sprawling area in the heart of the City of Albany and provided smaller plan areas for further study. The Education District follows Park South and Upper Madison as a targeted zone for revitalization. Because of the intensity of its use, the Education District Enhancement Study will focus on developing a safe and welcoming network of connections between transportation modes, commercial destinations, residences, places of work and academic institutions.

The City’s Department of Development and Planning will work with CDTC, a consultant team led by BFJ Planning, and local stakeholders to conduct the study. This project will build directly from previous and ongoing plans and programs in the area. The Education District Enhancement Study will integrate the principles from current Public Safety initiatives as well as tying in the City’s Bicycle Master Plan process, which is the result of another CDTC grant, and the Capital District Transportation Authority’s plans for bus rapid transit in the District. A goal of the Study is to supplement these ongoing efforts and tie them together with a District-specific focus.