The city plans to put conventional bike lanes along three blocks of Madison Avenue as part of a project to reduce the number of travel lanes.

Besides the bike lanes, the road will have three traffic lanes: one in each direction and a central turning lane. It now has two lanes in each direction.

The city reviewed five alternatives for the work to be done this year.

At a meeting Wednesday at the Touhey Forum at the College of St. Rose, the city revealed that it would place a bicycle lane on each side of the road, next to parked cars. There will not be a buffer zone or barrier between riders and drivers or between cyclists and parked cars. The city also decided against creating one-way bike lanes next to each other on one side of the street.

Jeffrey Pangburn, senior project manager for Creighton Manning, said the city has received federal funding of $476,000 for the construction work on the road, and it does not want to spend any more than that.

“This is the best complete streets option for Madison Avenue,” Pangburn said. “Conventional bike lanes being striped on Madison Avenue is a big improvement.”

Mayor Kathy Sheehan said the city had to take all viewpoints into account: Some businesses didn’t want the bike lanes at all, while cyclists wanted protected lanes.

“We have to take into consideration all users,” she said. “For this project, the conventional bike lanes were the right choice. It doesn’t mean protected bike lanes are dead in the city of Albany.”

Jason D’Cruz, a professor and frequent cyclist, said he was disappointed. Bicycling advocates had called for protected bike lanes, saying conventional lanes leave riders vulnerable to drivers and people opening car doors.

“This was really a rare opportunity for Albany to get its first protected bike lane,” he said.

Virginia Hammond, Pine Hills Neighborhood Association president, said she was pleased at the estimate accidents will be reduced 25 percent. She was an original proponent of redoing the road.

“We are happy to get the Madison Avenue road diet,” she said. “It will reduce the number of crashes. It certainly put protected bike lanes on the map.”

The city only has funding for three blocks between South Allen and Partridge streets. The city would like to extend the improvements eight blocks from Partridge to Lark Street. Pangburn said he hopes funding will be in place next year.