March 14, 2004
Highway discussions at Town Board meeting
Thursday's Town Board meeting had a relative brief highway session, though what there was was interesting.
During citizens' privilege, Peggy Walbridge asked what the status was of the proposed work on Hunt Hill and Genung Roads. Highway Superintendent Jack Bush said that nothing had changed, planning was still in the works, she would be notified when something would happen, and that nothing should happen before the next board meeting, certainly.
Bush also reported on the February 24th meeting in Varna on "Speed Control on Rural Roads", noting that many of the difficulties discussed there were in state control, but also noting that some people were interested in putting a park and ride on 366 to take traffic off the road before it reached Varna.
He also noted (and County Legislator Martha Robertson also noted, as she had worked on it previously and been involved in the discussion) that one complaint at that meeting focused on town roads was about the intersection of Genung and Ellis Hollow Creek roads (map), which was wide enough that drivers took turns quickly and regularly ended up in the yard across the street.
The town is experimenting with narrowing the intersection, as shown below:
Revised intersection of Ellis Hollow Creek and Genung Roads, as seen by drivers approaching from Ellis Hollow Creek Road
Revised intersection of Ellis Hollow Creek and Genung Roads, as seen by drivers approaching from Genung Road
Damaged reflector at Ellis Hollow Creek and Genung Roads, an earlier effort at marking the road edge that itself got hit.
Board members reported that they'd heard positive reports from citizens about the modified road, and it seems to be a success so far.
Martha Robertson noted that her efforts to have the speed limit reduced on Ellis Hollow Creek Road were stymied by a New York State Department of Transportation official who feared it would lead to tailgating. Robertson also discussed the prospects for Route 366 park and ride, noting that Cornell's parking situation is difficult to start with and that putting a park and ride at the current site of the closed Boxcar restaurant might solve both traffic problems on Route 366 and parking problems at Cornell.
Posted by simon at March 14, 2004 4:13 PM in Ellis Hollow , Varna , roads, traffic, and transitNote on photos