Oswego’s public roadways take a turn for the worse: Infrastructure woes and what the village is doing to improve them

To be fair, Oswego has a long history of growth and development. This has brought more businesses and better education to the community, which has tremendously expanded the desire for movement into the village.

However, with more people comes a greater strain on the local infrastructure, specifically our roadways.

“With the construction of new subdivisions in the area, roads have been ripped up and repaved, creating traffic issues,” said Oswego citizen Joe Labuda. “Periodically, I’ve had to take longer detours, extending the time for commuting to work and running errands.”

As more developments are rapidly being added to Oswego, the burden grows on the smaller two-lane rural roads that are no longer fit for the amount of traffic generated from this. The roads are only going to get worse if our village of Oswego does not look ahead to fix them.

“Oswego is growing very quickly, and construction projects can make it difficult for all the new residents to leave their neighborhoods daily,” Labuda said. “The roads cannot remain the same two-lane country route type of streets.”

As more neighborhoods are being developed along the Wolf’s Crossing corridor, throughout Harvey Rd and Douglas Rd, the main two-lane roads of the village are no longer able to support the massive amounts of traffic that come with more people.

Consistent delays

From school buses to snow plows, in Oswego, it seems there are plenty of investments needed. According to the Village’s snow removal page, Oswego has “more than 330 miles of roadway” that must be plowed and salted during heavy snowfall throughout the winter.

Considering the village has so much road space to take care of, they invest a lot of money into keeping our streets clean and safe during rough weather events.

“I only take three roads to get to school,” said OH junior Sam DeCarlo. “[There’s usually] ice on Templeton and Plank Road,” he added. 

DeCarlo isn’t wrong about the problem of consistent ice or snow on residential roads either, as those are the areas that tend to get plowed last, or at a lower priority compared to main highways or high traffic areas. Oswego fills up with new drivers every year, and having broken up or icy roads is not safe for new drivers, such as young high school students or those new to the area and unfamiliar with the roads.

According to the village’s website, “Oswego has established a priority plowing system for its more than 330 miles of roadway so that the main traffic routes and collector roads are cleared first. Crews then address neighborhood streets. The village contracts with private companies for cul-de-sacs.”

While the village prioritizes clearing main travel routes prior to ‘neighborhood streets,’ there are really only a few large-capacity roads that run through Oswego. Routes 34 and 71, as well as Douglas Rd and Highway 22, are four of less than ten large roads that run through the village, yet residents like DeCarlo still cite issues of snow and ice on residential streets, when the village has the resources to solve these issues.

Public transportation backups

Adding to the frustration is public transportation, making the drive to and from school anything but fun, too. US Route 71 and Wolf’s Crossing Rd that go to OH and OE, respectively, are consistently backed up each day before school begins and after it lets out. The average wait in line takes anywhere from 15-20 minutes – and that’s if the weather is good and most students take the bus.

“[The] buses … are uncomfortably crowded,” said DeCarlo. “One time when I was a freshman I had to sit on another kid’s lap. Not fun.”

Overcrowded buses during the winter have been an issue for many students over the years. This has led to an increase in parent drop-offs, especially during harsh weather conditions. This issue is also represented by the lack of bus drivers available for students year over year, and the district’s ongoing push to hire more drivers to help mitigate this issue.

However the roads leading to both schools (Wolf’s Crossing and Route 71) quickly get backed up as the line builds and builds from all directions going into one small entrance/exit at each building.

Early in the morning at OH, the line getting into school has always been backed up in the front of the building on Route 71. Due to the new renovations of the newly built sidewalk, there are more students parking in the gravel lot that walk into the school, and the line gets backed up everyday. This affects the students who had purchased a parking pass and now expect a 15+ minute delay before school hours.

According to the village’s page regarding upcoming construction, “[w]ork is progressing on the next section of Wolfs Crossing, stretching from the west side of the new Piper Glen subdivision to the south leg of Douglas Road. This phase will widen Wolf’s Crossing to four lanes and include a modern roundabout at the Douglas Road intersection to improve traffic flow and safety.”

At the end of the day, no one wants to be driving in traffic or on messy, torn up roads. The village of Oswego needs to continue to address this issue proactively, so the citizens and passers-by can drive more cautiously.