An informational meeting to sell residents on putting a roundabout at the intersection of Sand Creek and Wolf roads near Colonie Center Mall and the future site of an adult community became heated at The Crossings Park Wednesday, Jan. 10.
Residents agreed with state Department of Transportation officials that the circular traffic mitigation design was better than the conventional, lighted four-way intersection. However, they couldn’t agree that the proposed intersection was the best place for one.
Traffic problems currently arise when rush-hour traffic backs up at the intersection of Sand Creek and Wolf roads.
Neighbors, and especially residents of Kenlyn Drive, a dead-end street that runs parallel to Wolf Road, told horror stories of being trapped in traffic or unable to leave their homes for extended periods of time as traffic in Sand Creek Road backed all the way up to Colonie Central High School more than a half mile to the southeast.
According to DOT engineers, one car every four seconds takes Sand Creek Road to get to Wolf Road, and more traffic is expected as a result of Colonie Center’s 100,000-square-foot addition and the proposed construction of the Davis Adult Community senior housing complex.
Mall officials and the owners of the Davis parcel have put their support behind the roundabout proposal.
Roundabouts have become the DOT’s No. 1 choice for replacing lighted intersections, and town planners had already approved the Sand Creek roundabout as a replacement for the intersection.
The Jan. 10 meeting was the first time many residents had learned of the proposal.
The big problem there is that they don’t care about the people on Kenlyn Drive, said Ed Vigaris. He and his wife, Mildred, have lived on the residential route parallel with Wolf Road for 42 years.
`We aren’t against progress, we are against not being able to get out,` said Mildred Vigaris.
The Vigaris joined scores of residents who questioned what good it would do to keep Sand Creek Road traffic moving ` the intent of the roundabout ` during rush hour. If anything, residents said, the roundabout would become backed up itself and not provide residents the break in traffic that a lighted intersection does. It’s that break that allows some of the residents an opportunity to exit Sand Creek side roads.
Several residents said the roundabout should be put on Wolf Road.
`Unfortunately the developers aren’t going to pay for another Wolf Road,` said Tom Kligerman, a DOT engineer with the department’s Roundabout Design Unit.
Kligerman and another engineer were asked to attend the informational meeting by attorney Victor Caponera Jr., who represents both the mall and Davis developers.
Caponera described the roundabout as a win-win situation for the town and community and an opportunity to improve the safety and traffic flow of Sand Creek Road.
`This roundabout is approved. We are going to get the roundabout,` said Colonie Police Chief Steven Heider as tempers began to flare at the meeting. `The situation is only going to get worse when traffic coming out of Colonie Center will increase. This roundabout in not going to make it worse; it may make it better, if they extend Aviation Drive.`
Sand Creek’s roundabout is only a fraction of a larger plan state and town engineers have mulled over as they look to ease congestion of Wolf Road.
A similar plan is in the works for a roundabout as part of the relocation of Maxwell Road to the north, and its intersection with Albany Shaker Road. The plan is awaiting environmental review for wetland issues in the area. So far, Albany Shaker’s roundabout has been in the design stage for two years.
The plan is to extend Aviation Drive, a dead-end road that services commercial areas to the east of Wolf Road, and make it a bypass parallel with Wolf Road that runs between the roundabouts at Albany Shaker and Sand Creek roads.
However, until Aviation Drive can alleviate Wolf Road and connector road traffic, the roundabout at Sand Creek will most likely help area residents, said Heider. Studies show that roundabouts are safer for pedestrian crossings and reduce the number of accidents substantially, he said.“
