HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – Harrisonburg residents got to talk with the city about plans to modify Gay St. near the downtown area.

The project would reconfigure lanes on a stretch of Gay St. between Broad and Liberty Streets to add safety and pedestrian infrastructure, taking the four-lane road down to three. Changes would include left turn lanes, the addition of bike lanes, and the construction of crosswalks and curb ramps.

The street’s current configuration requires car and bike traffic to change lanes at one or more locations to continue straight on the roadway. The need for a reconfiguration project was first identified in the 2014 Downtown Streetscape Plan, and a study was completed in 2022.

A few dozen people attended an open house hosted by the City of Harrisonburg’s Public Works Department Wednesday afternoon at the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center to learn about the project. The department’s spokesperson, Brittany Clem-Hott, said feedback was mostly positive.

“We’ve had a lot of people coming out saying ‘hey, I’m really excited. I’ll be able to ride my bike from point A to point B a little bit further, I’ll be able to get to some of my favorite shops or to work or the grocery store,'” she said. “And then we have some people that are a little bit concerned about congestion.”

City staff were at the event to provide clarity with statistical data regarding average daily traffic on Gay St.

Work is expected to start sometime next year and go through 2026.  A survey about the Gay St. reconfiguration project is available online for residents at https://arcg.is/0HD0bO0 through May 1.