Sheridan, WY – The City of Sheridan will be conducting a month-long temporary test of a lane reconfiguration on Main Street beginning Sunday, August 11.

Due to the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s planned resurfacing project of the downtown section of Main Street in 2023, the City saw an opportunity to investigate the idea of reconfiguring the existing layout to provide better parking and accessibility for the downtown area.

A study conducted by the city 2018, which included focus groups and feedback from downtown retailers, indicated that reducing the now current four-lane configuration to three-lanes would offer a more inviting and accessible downtown.

“WYDOT is in full support of the test the City of Sheridan is performing on Main Street, which is also US Highway 87.” said District Engineer, Scott Taylor, “The Department is looking forward to the results of the traffic data, feedback from both the vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and the feedback from the downtown businesses.  Once all the data is gathered and evaluated, we will then be able to determine if the proposed configuration of Main Street will successfully function operationally in 2023 and beyond.”

At Monday’s Sheridan City Council Meeting, City of Sheridan Engineer, Hans Mercer explained how the test would be conducted.

Existing striping will be covered and temporary striping will be installed. The striping will include turn arrows, and left, right and center lane boundaries. This process is expected to be completed by late Sunday afternoon.  Main Street will then be opened and the test period will begin.

The speed limit will remain at 20 MPH and the No Left Turn signal will be shut off during this test period.

WYDOT and the City will both be gathering quantitative traffic data throughout the study area.  In addition to data collecting on Main Street, the City will also be gathering traffic data on Brooks Street, Gould Street, and the surrounding area.

Both WYDOT and the City encourage local residents to drive Main Street and experience the test. Once driven, the community is encouraged to answer a short survey about their experience. This survey can be accessed at www.sheridanmainstreet.com. In addition, downtown merchants will have a survey form at their businesses and will be gathering anecdotal data from their customers during this period.

The test period will run through Sunday, September 8.

Data will be gathered and reviewed once the test period is over.  A public meeting to discuss the results has been scheduled for September 17 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Sheridan Memorial Hospital Downtown Community Conference Room, located at 61 South Gould St.

Local News News