The Town of Ballston unanimously adopted a resolution Tuesday, April 1, to forward a letter to the Saratoga County Department of Public Works asking the county to lower the speed limit on Middleline Road. The move was made following a flurry of letters from residents concerned with the safety of the road.
The resolution asks the county to lower the speed limit on Middleline Road from 45 mph to 30 mph.
It’s a gamble for me to get out of the driveway, said Robert Pustolka, who operates a farm on Middleline Road and has lived on the road in Ballston Spa since 1965.
Pustolka wrote a letter to the council requesting them to support a speed reduction on the road. He said the 45 mph speed limit and a hill north of Randall Road, which prevents clear visibility, are problematic.
`There are so many features over here that are not good,` Pustolka said.
In addition to Pustolka’s letter, two other letters were sent to the town, including a letter from the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District Transportation Supervisor Richard Hewlett.
`I share similar concerns about the speed limit,` Hewlett said in regard to Pustolka’s concerns.
Residents say between the condition of the road and the 45 mph speed limit, people are in danger when traveling the county-owned stretch of road.
Pustolka said the road has always been a problem, but his renewed interest in pursuing a lower speed limit stemmed from a narrow escape two weeks ago when a car driving the speed limit on the road nearly struck his tractor because of the lack of visibility.
`I thought it was going to be a devastating situation,` said Pustolka.
The county owns the road, which runs from Route 50 in the village of Ballston Spa to Route 29 in the town of Milton.
`I think it is very important that we make this happen,` said Councilman Tim Szczpaniak of reducing the speed limit.
The speed on that stretch was initially reduced from 55 mph to 45 mph.
In 2000, when the county was repaving the road, they offered to mitigate the hill, which would increase visibility making the road safer, but several residents were opposed to the plan because it would have affected their homes.
While Pustolka and other residents would like to see the speed significantly reduced, they said they were not totally in favor of removing the hill because of the significant impact it would have on their neighbors.
`I’d be in favor of keeping everyone happy,` Pustolka said of mitigating the hill.
He said mitigation of the hill would leave houses on the hill high and dry.
`Something has to be done,` Pustolka said.
He hopes the county will be able to work with the town in reducing the speed before the agricultural session gets under way again, although he has already started working his farm for the season.
A year ago, during a Planning Board meeting, Planning Board member Jeffrey Cwalinski said that there was a fatality on Middleline Road and that two sheriff’s deputies’ cars were almost a part of the accident.
He said the town’s comprehensive plan has plans to mitigate the hill, which he called `dangerous,` and that he would like to see a letter directed to someone at the county to correct the problem.
The Town Council noted during the meeting that new signs warning of a hidden view were placed on the road earlier in the week.“