City of Poughkeepsie Opening Pedestrian Road to Traffic

It's going to get a little easier to drive around the City of Poughkeepsie. Crews are working on opening up a pedestrian street to traffic once again.

Mid Hudson News reports that a section of Garden Street connecting Main Street to the City of Poughkeepsie parking garage began a transformation on Friday. Crews have begun work to transform the walkway into a road.

Once construction is complete drivers will be able to travel on Garden Street from Main Street all the way to Parker Avenue (Route 9G) near the Walkway over the Hudson. Travelers going the opposite direction still won't have a direct route to Main Street, since Garden Street will remain a one-way street North of the West-bound arterial behind Mill House Brewing Company.

The main reason for the transformation is to provide easier access to parking from the Main Street shopping district. Years ago, the "Main Mall" in Poughkeepsie was transformed from a pedestrian walkway into a street. This section of Garden Street, however, remained closed to traffic until now.

According to Mid Hudson News, Central Hudson has chipped in $250,000 for the work. An additional $50,000 will come from Poughkeepsie's Community Development Block Grant funds. Work is expected to be finished on the road in November.