Village of Glenville officials are being very careful about the details of the proposed Lowe’s Home Improvement Store on Freemans Bridge Road. A concern for the town has been the flow of traffic into and out of the store. This concern has led to an offer by Lowe’s to give the town the money upfront to pay for the estimated construction costs for adding a traffic light on Freemans Bridge Road. The light would create a left turning lane that will widen the road.
Town Planner Mike Burns said the entire project still requires a site plan and subdivision approval, most likely to come in August or September. He said the town board recently re-zoned the project site from research/development/ technology to general business. Currently, an agreement is in place regarding the design of the access road cross-section at Freemans Bridge.
The town is working with Lowe’s representatives and the state Department of Transportation staff concerning improvements to Freemans Bridge Road. Minor site details are being worked out with the design engineers from Lowe’s, said Burns.
A similar access road was constructed when the Super Wal-Mart was built in the town a few years ago. Town officials have been cautious about the preliminary plans for Lowe’s because they are adamant that taxpayers should not have to pay for any costs related to the construction. With Lowe’s offer to pay for the access road, officials are more confident that the plan will be cost-effective, but are still not completely certain. Town Deputy Supervisor Robert Bailey said the town is looking for estimates that will include easements and engineering costs.
`I will feel more confident when we have something concrete in front of us as far as estimates for related costs,` said Bailey.
At a town meeting in January, Lowe’s initially discussed connecting Freemans Bridge Road to Sunnyside Road as an access road option. That plan has since been disregarded because it would not be able to accommodate the anticipated traffic.
The town plans to continue to work with the state as well as Lowe’s to move forward with development of the store. Currently, the closest home improvement chain stores are the Lowe’s located in Niskayuna on Balltown Road and Home Depot at Crosstown Plaza in Schenectady.“
