After appearing in front of the Guilderland Planning Board, representatives of a proposed housing development in Guilderland Center are seeking counsel from the county Department of Public Works and an engineering consultant as they move forward with Dutchmen Acres, a 34-lot subdivision near the high school.
The Planning Board heard an update on the hamlet development on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at Town Hall, and the discussion focused on whether or not to connect the development’s main road to School Road. The proposal currently has an outlet on Depot Road.
The developers said they do not have school road access in their plans because of concerns that people coming from the high school would use the development as a short cut.
The reason being is that it is direct access to the high school, Chris Meyer, a representative of the developers.
An Albany County Department Public Works representative recommended against having a School Road outlet. Project engineering consultant Creighton Manning Associates issued the same recommendation, and remarked that the development would not likely have a significant impact on the overall traffic of the area.
Steve Feeney, planning board chairman, asked the developer to reconsider the School Road outlet, where a cul-de-sac is currently proposed. Feeney said a School Road connection would give residents faster access to their homes.
The current proposal does include emergency access to the cul-de-sac, as well as pedestrian access, but not regular vehicular access.
`I just have concerns about barricades,` Feeney said. `From our perspective, it’s much safer to have a road that goes through.`
Check back at www.spotlightnews.com or the Wednesday Oct. 21, issue of the Spotlight Newspaper for an update to the story.“