Hamlet residents were surprised to hear the sidewalk slated for Guilderland Center, which took several years from conception to construction, was technically going to be a pathway. The difference between the two comes down to a curb.
“What we were most concerned with was slowing traffic, and (prior consultants) insisted that curbs were very important in terms of slowing traffic down and the psychological factor that’s involved when you come into an area that has curbs,” Susan Wheeler-Weeks said. “We’re very concerned that the curbs have been eliminated, and we are also concerned we don’t hear anything about slowing traffic.”
Wheeler-Weeks, a member of the hamlet’s former Study Advisory Committee, was one of around 15 people who turned out to the Guilderland Center Firehouse on Wednesday, Feb. 26, for a public meeting on the Route 146 Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project.
Susan Torelli, project engineer for Creighton Manning, agreed curbs “visually” slow traffic down, but she contended the pathway would have a similar “visual affect.”
“It is not necessarily just the curb, it is also the sidewalk,” Torelli said. “We are saying pathway versus sidewalk, but I think that pathway is also a visual cue to the drivers.”
She said if more funding becomes available in the future, then a curb could be installed along the pathway, along with other improvements outlined in the Guilderland Center Neighborhood Master Plan released four years ago.
“This project is what it is,” she said. “This is the first step in that vision.”
Several attendees were frustrated over how long the project has taken to proceed, but Town Supervisor Ken Runion had previously said local officials had waited for federal funds to be released after receiving the grant several years ago.
“There has been a lot of studies that have been going on in this area, all the way back to 2000,” Torelli said.
The town and state are responsible for providing 20 percent of the $660,000 project, or $132,000.
“[It’s] not a lot to work with, but obviously, we want to stay within this plan and do what we can,” Torelli said.
The amount of funding available is what scaled back the project from including sidewalks to a pathway without a curb. Advantages of installing a pathway include not having to construct drainage infrastructure required with a curb, and crews would not have to cut into the existing roadway. The length of construction would also be reduced.
The pathway would run along the south side of Route 146 from just beyond where Depot Road connects to it and stops at the nursing home. There would be a small portion of sidewalk on the north side from School Road to the Helderberg Reformed Church, because the infrastructure is already in place.
The town previously reduced the speed limit along Route 146 through the hamlet to 35 mph, but several attendees said cars still speed down the road. Torelli said its recent traffic study of the corridor revealed 85 percent of the drivers are traveling 41 mph or less along the road.
“People come roaring through Guilderland Center,” Wheeler-Weeks said. “I’m just so amazed at your statistic. They don’t see anything, let alone a flat pathway without a curb. They see nothing.”
From February 2010 to February 2013, there were two pedestrian accidents along the roadway, according to Torelli. The first accident was at the intersection of School Road and involved the driver being under the influence of alcohol and traveling at an unsafe speed. The second accident was during a rainy day and a vehicle struck a pedestrian walking correctly along the road’s shoulder.
“I’m sure many of you live in the corridor, you know there is heavy traffic,” Torelli said. “Buses, … heavy vehicles from the industrial park, and it’s a heavy commuter route as well. There are limited pedestrian facilities.”
She also noted previous projects have found that unless a community embraces the safety enhancements, such as waiting for a crosswalk signal, then the infrastructure installed does little to mitigate potential hazards.
Seth Whitney, a hamlet resident working for the town’s water department, urged if the project comes under budget to apply the funds toward safety features rather than decorative elements.
“I don’t want decorative lights, and I’d rather see the traffic light signal no turn on red, because the kids aren’t going to be paying attention,” Whitney said. “Safety first, and then we decorate.”
Mark Grimm questioned why there would not be another public meeting if changes were made to the plan based on community feedback or the project is under budget and more funds are available. Only one meeting is legally required.
“If there is definitely a need, we can look at that, but I think at this point, we can talk with you and we can come and meet you one-on-one out at your property,” Torelli said.
Final design approval is expected to be received in April and the project would go out to bid in September, with construction planned to begin in October. The project would be “substantially completed” in December, Torelli said, with landscaping completed in the spring of 2015.