by Thaddeus Flint
A plan to get the people of New Lebanon walking along their “miracle mile,” at least on one side of it anyway, with new sidewalks to be installed from Lover’s Lane to the high school, moved a bit closer to reality Tuesday.
[private]Town Supervisor Mike Benson and Councilmen Doug Clark, K.B. Chittenden and Bruce Baldwin voted in favor of going forward with the project, while Councilman Matt Larabee was the sole vote against.
The vote comes after a meeting Benson and Creighton Manning, the design team in charge of the project, had with representatives of the New York State Department of Transportation on Friday, May 17.
At that meeting it was determined that the preferred alternative is now option #2 of the four alternatives. This is described in the Town’s May 21 Determination and Findings report as “maintaining the existing two-way left-turn lane, narrowing the shoulder on the north side of Route 20/22 to 5 ft, installing curb, a 3 ft maintenance strip, and a 5 ft sidewalk.”
Many residents at both public hearings on the project stated that the two way, left turn lane was important to the Town not only as means of making safe turns but in facilitating the survival of businesses that would suffer if turning left became almost impossible.
Don Adams, the Project Manager from Creighton Manning, had pointed out that by eliminating the middle turn lane, traffic would be calmed, which would also give back some of that “small town” feel which that part of New Lebanon has lost.
Instead, the NYSDOT has recommended keeping the turn lane and in an effort “to create the feel of a small town and the feeling of narrowing the roadway without actual narrowing the available roadway width, NYSDOT would allow the maintenance strip to be landscaped with trees,” states a draft meeting summary prepared by Creighton Manning. “The vertical elements of the trees will give the perception of a narrower roadway.”
NYSDOT also suggested that the Town add zoning regarding “unified street signage for commercial businesses” which would put in place “signing requirements for businesses.”
Funding for the project is still listed as being 80% federal and 20% local.
NYSDOT confirmed that the Marchiselli funding, which is a highway improvement program financed by federal funds with a requirement for the State and local governments to share in the cost of approved projects, “is not available for this project, as the project is located on a State highway.” Instead it was the DOT’s opinion that going “through the Columbia County Transportation Advisory Committee,” would, for New Lebanon, be the “best approach to seek additional funding for the local match.”
The Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) could also be utilized towards the 20% local match.
Total cost of Alternative 2 has been estimated by Creighton Manning to be $1.54 million. This alternative is also expected to require “the acquisition of 9 parcels in fee,” states the adopted Determination and Findings report. The acquisition of these nine parcels totaling .07 acres which would take place through eminent domain.
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