A city Public Works Department crew is pictured working on a new intersection at Baker Street and Barrett Avenue on Friday. P-J photo by John Whittaker

Councilwoman Marie Carrubba, D-Ward 4, wants to see the city do a better job alerting drivers which roads are going to be closed for construction.

Carrubba, who chairs the City Council’s Housing Committee, spoke about the issue during a recent council meeting.

“We have been having a lot of street construction going on,” Carrubba said. “But there have been a number of issues with all the work that the streets are not clearly marked as to whether they’re closed, when they will be closed, and it’s creating a very difficult situation.”

Specifically, she cited issues when Fifth Street was closed for construction with neighboring side streets also closed.

Carrubba said she received complaints from neighborhood residents that they couldn’t get into the city because all the lanes going east were blocked from South Fifth Street while people returning home in the afternoon couldn’t get onto Fifth Street, meaning they had a difficult time getting to their apartments or parking places, including residents of the senior high rise building on Fifth Street.

Work on Hallock Street earlier this year had a similar issue, she said. Side streets were blocked off when work began and, when crews left, the cones blocking the road were left out. Carrubba also noted a taxi driver from Buffalo who was blocked in near Jamestown Business College when Fifth Street was closed and the only other street to go around the work was a one-way street that would have forced the driver to drive the wrong way.

“People were not notified,” Carrubba said. “People couldn’t get onto the streets. I spoke with Jeff (Lehman, city public works director). They need to do a better job letting the public know when they’re closing the streets, what streets will be open, especially with one-way streets in this city. … So whatever can be done to address this issue for people when they’re trying to drive. We’ve got a lot going on. I understand that. But people need to know before everything is closed what the routes are just like they do for parades and other events.”