by Doug La Rocque
If you have ever traveled NYS Route 7 (Hoosick Road) during rush hour or on weekends, you have probably had a few not so pleasant words about the traffic situation. It is often backed up so it takes many turns of a traffic light to proceed, exiting and entering the road can be quite the challenge and is sometimes a nightmare for emergency vehicles. Traffic was a major topic of discussion for the Brunswick Planning Board when they deliberated the new Aldi, Hannaford and Harbor Freight projects and at nearly every Town Board meeting, someone comments during public session about the problem, asking what can the Town do. Until the Thursday, December 9 meeting of the Town Council, Supervisor Phil Herrington’s response has been, not much. It is a State owned road. He repeatedly has mentioned when he asks the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) for help, he is brushed off by their answer, “Do you think Route 7 in Brunswick is our only problem?”
At that meeting Supervisor Herrington announced the Town has retained the services of Engineer Wayne Bonesteel (who currently advises the Planning Board) to look into what if anything can be done. His answer was, there is the possibility of obtaining a grant from the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC), for a traffic study of the road, not done since the year 2000. He also indicated that DOT would send the CDTC a letter of support.
A new study is one thing, but Mr. Bonesteel also talked about a new traffic signal DOT is hoping to begin installing around the State, fondly labeled as a “smart light.” He tells The Eastwick Press these new traffic control devices actually have cameras that see the amount of backed up traffic, read turning lanes and actually talk to each other, changing the length of time between the red and green lights to better facility the flow of traffic. He hopes such “smart light” installation might be a recommendation to DOT as a result of the study. According to Mr. Bonesteel, the grant application process should be filed soon.
Rensselaer County DOH: No Need for PFOA Testing at This Time
At the November meeting of the Town Board, there was a passionate discussion between Supervisor Herrington and former Town Council candidate Jennifer Mann over private testing of wells for PFOA and other PFAS substances. In particular, the discussion centered on how Ms. Mann had allegedly presented the results to a Brunswick Road resident (Supervisor Herrington admitting it was a relative of his) in a manner he felt was inappropriate, and repeatedly told her to “be careful.” That was the only test to detect any level of PFOA and was below the state threshold of 10 parts per trillion.
Water Department Superintendent Bill Bradley then sent a letter to the Rensselaer County Department of Health (RCDOH) regarding the testing coordinated by Ms. Mann. RCDOH indicated it had not seen any of these tests results except the Brunswick Road readings, and that given the lack of findings and information, they will not at this time be conducting any further testing.
Hurry Up and Wait
During the Planning Board proceedings to approve the Hannaford Supermarket at the intersection of Lord Avenue and Hoosick Road, the developers many times were urging that the approval process be sped up, indicating they wanted to begin trucking in the very large amount of fill that was required. Now, it appears Mother Nature is their new nemesis as they have found the fill too high in water content because of all the recent rains, thusly the preliminary construction work is on hold, possibly until spring.
Other News and Notes
During public comment, it was asked how much money Brunswick might receive from the recently approved federal Infrastructure Bill and what projects might it be used for. Engineer Bonesteel commented this does not work the same way as the American Rescue Plan, in that the State will disperse the monies for projects under consideration by the designated government agencies.
The Leon Project which includes construction of the Aldi store, will be doing some low level blasting in the coming weeks and area residents will be notified.
There was a complaint about all the signs placed in front of the Metro Mattress Store along Hoosick Road, with Codes Officer Chuck Golden mentioning he had cited them for a codes violation and would see to it they are removed.
Cannabis Action
Following a public hearing at which there were no serious concerns expressed, the Council voted to accept a Local Law opting out of on site consumption of cannabis related products at any future dispensaries. The Council Members took no action concerning such dispensaries, meaning they will be approved by default on December 31.
