In my opinion, I like Erie blvd just the way it is. It is nice and wide and open. Actually, I would have thought that these city and county legislatures would have wanted to keep it that way. With the history and all. After all, IT IS THE EXACT LOCATION OF WHERE THE ERIE CANAL ONCE WAS!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Each and every argument used by all the naysayers regarding the proposal of the roundabout at Erie Boulevard and South Church Street shows that they don’t see the obvious — i.e., roundabouts are meant as a means for calming traffi c as well as getting traffic where it is supposed to end up safely. Latham has had one for years and it’s still there working for the traffic in that heavily used corridor. Just coming back from Cape Cod I noticed that after several years of muchneeded upgrades to the entrance of the Bourne and Sagamore bridges, the roundabout is working better, for it allows more traffic to move smoothly and safely to get on to one of the bridges to the Cape. The traffic backups along I-495 were all too common for years in that area without a new and improved roundabout. But in Schenectady, anything that makes sense always invites the most illogical responses. As it is now, traffi c speeds up at the end of Erie Boulevard to get onto I-890. There’s a lone yield sign on an island that divides traffi c. If that isn’t a disaster waiting to happen, nothing is. The traffic can get backed up during heavy traffic because of drivers’ inability to recognize yield signs. Ditto the Washington Avenue entrance to I-890 from the college. A roundabout would take care of these types of traffic problems immediately. Also, what’s wrong with green space upgrades along with safer traffic patterns that allow traffic to move and not come to a standstill inviting the inevitable fender bender? Just get used to the fact that roundabouts are here to stay. If you want easier and safer flow of traffic, then support this long-awaited traffic pattern on Erie. GERALD PLANTE Schenectady
Is the author, Gerald Plante, the Democratic party member who ran for City Committee in 2003? Does he presently hold public office in the city of Schenectady?
In my opinion, rotaries may make sense in places where a considerable volume of traffic flows from four perpendicular directions through a single (intersection) point. The proposed location on Erie Boulevard presently has only three directions of travel with no possibility of a fourth being added. The side street off of Erie Boulevard is not heavily traveled, nor is it wide enough to accommodate increased traffic flow. Mr. Plante's comparison to the heavily traveled rotaries in New England is flawed.
It appears, from the news story at the URL below, that he lives in the Stockade. Could his judgement on this issue be affected by the proximity of his home to the heavily traveled thoroughfare, perhaps with a desire for less traffic to travel Erie Boulevard?
Either way, he has a right to his opinion. I happen to disagree with it.
The slowing of traffic at the proposed location will back up traffic at I-890 exit ramps and at the exits from the GE plant. If vehicles become idle on the I-890 exit ramps, this could result in accidents at high speeds and injury/death.
First, thanks Brad for the info on Gerald Plante. I was wondering who the heck out there is actually in favor of this roundabout....and now I know.
Second, I couldn't agree with you more shadow. Although I do think the entrance to I890 is a disaster waiting to happen, I don't see where a roundabout will solve that problem. In fact I think it will just add to previoius bad planning.
Thirdly, with the state and county being in the finacial mess that it already is, it is clearly irresponsible of our local leaders to even conceive the idea of spending millions of our tax dollars on a roundabout for a stretch of road that is all but desolate and will certainly not create a better flow of what ever traffic there is now.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
no why was this no big deal waiting to happen, or whatever when the GE was at the peak back in the 70s? THIS I gott know. Why is it a disaster waiting to happen when 1/10th of the traffic goes thru there then when the GE was full. Then it was no problem and so now we gotta spend all the money. C-mon!
roundabouts simply weren't "popular" then ... it's called "effective traffic management" - which is a prerequisite in engineers school for "making consumers waste gas 101"
State DOT needs to keep up with weeds along I-890 corridor
After reading “Gripes spur traffic change,” in the July 19 Gazette, I found it amusing that Mayor Brian Stratton is trying to beautify the entrances to Schenectady while New York state has all but stopped any aesthetic maintenance to the main corridor into the city, i.e. I-890. It’s obvious to anyone who uses I-890 daily and the Thruway that state Department of Transportation [DOT] is not doing its share. While the Thruway mows all the open area along its road, DOT is only making one pass, leaving the rest to grow up into beautiful weeds and brush. This certainly goes well with Mayor Stratton’s views. This is apparently another futile attempt by our state government to make the public think that they are trying to save money on fuel. Once again our state-run agencies are penny wise and dollar foolish! They are only saving pennies in this attempt. If they were really serious, perhaps they would look at cutting layers of middle management that aren’t necessary and doing away with most of the state vehicles that employees take home with taxpayer-provided fuel. Why can’t state employees use their own vehicles to drive to work like everyone else in private industry? Then at least some of the waste in state government would be eliminated and maybe our interstate roads and approaches to cities such as Schenectady would once again look as they should. LORI JONES Niskayuna
I do not believe that I am alone in my opposition to the city’s proposed reconstruction of Erie Boulevard. Two of my buildings [Another World bookstore and Special Arms & Munitions] will be subject to eminent domain acquisition should the project proceed as planned with the unnecessary roundabout. However, even surviving businesses will be adversely affected by this misguided effort in a multitude of ways — lack of access due to changed traffic patterns for vehicles and pedestrians, significant parking limitations, snow removal, delivery restrictions, etc. We have already taken the first step to establishing a formal opposition by obtaining documents through a Freedom of Information Law request. Not surprisingly, among those documents were written complaints and strong opposition by many Erie Boulevard business owners. It is clear that whatever the city’s motivation might be, they have not taken the concerns of its small business owners adequately into account. If you share my concerns and wish to work together to block this current construction debacle in order to save your business and our neighborhood, please attend a meeting at Brandon’s Restaurant, 1725 Van Vranken Ave. on Thursday, July 31 at 6 p.m. It is only with a unified front that we can fight this process. ROCCO J. PALMER Schenectady
well that is wrong and its a bad thing, and this is the sort of stuff Tommasone does, wastes money- no good!
Sorry to burst your bubble on this one, Salvatore, but this isn't a Tommasone "Study." This is a work of the fine establishment that brings you all that is Downtown Schenectady (Dems), the city (Dems), the Metroplex (Dems) and the County (Dems) all working hand in hand, whether you can see the hands working or not.
The various proposals to “beautify” Erie Boulevard miss an important point: When you drive on Erie Boulevard, you are riding on the Erie Canal. You are experiencing history. Erie Boulevard can be used to strengthen Schenectady’s efforts to emphasize its history so as to attract more tourism. Place big signs or billboards on the boulevard or at its approaches announcing the canal and showing scenes from when it ran through the middle of the city. Open a Schenectady Erie Canal museum in a building on Erie Boulevard. Have a diorama in the museum that shows how commerce jammed both sides of the canal in the downtown area. The key feature of Erie Boulevard is its history. Attempts at beautification seem misplaced. One of our friends said it’s like placing window boxes on the Great Wall of China. RICHARD O. WEBER Niskayuna
SCHENECTADY Businesses unite against roundabout Merchants on Erie Boulevard fear loss of livelihoods BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
The promise of slight changes to the Erie Boulevard plan has not appeased the longtime business owners who see their livelihoods threatened by a proposed roundabout. More than 30 of them met Thursday and agreed to fight for the complete removal of the roundabout from the $14 million Erie Boulevard reconstruction plan. Some admitted that they had been wooed by the mayor’s changes to the plan, particularly a promise for a U-turn near Interstate 890. And a possible delivery road behind the businesses nearly won them over. But they decided that the roundabout would so greatly hamper customers’ ability to get to their businesses that they couldn’t support it under any circumstances. The issue is so grave, they said, that they see themselves in a battle against the city with their livelihoods at stake. On Thursday, they spent four hours with an attorney and a professional engineer getting help in developing tactics to fight off the roundabout. Their main problem with the traffic circle is that it blocks southbound customers from reaching businesses on the east side of the street. Customers heading from State Street onto Erie would be unable to stop at Lyle’s Hoagies, Wendy’s Restaurant, the First National Bank of Scotia and other stores on that side of the street. They would only be able to access those businesses if they merged onto Interstate 890, crossed five lanes of traffic and reentered Erie Boulevard. “Do you think they’re really going to do that for a $5 sandwich?” said Lyle’s Hoagies owner Doreen Pitsas at Thursday’s meeting. “I don’t think so.” Mayor Brian U. Stratton tried to head off those complaints two weeks ago by announcing a change in the plan. Customers could make a U-turn just before entering I-890 and whip around to the other side of the street, from which they would have easy access to those stores. Planners are also considering a service road behind the affected businesses, which would allow tractor-trailer deliveries without tying up Erie Boulevard. They could also use that space for employee parking. It was nearly enough to convince Pitsas to switch sides. “It would be perfect. That would be good for me,” she said. But after some thought, she add- ed regretfully that she still wouldn’t be able to support a roundabout. The service road, after all, sweetens the pot for business owners only. “It won’t help my customers,” she said. Other business owners said the mayor should go back to the drawing board and try something new. They offered some ideas, saying he should focus on the economy instead of beautification, his stated goal for the street. “How is it going to attract new businesses?” said AFLAC sales manager Sabrina Heilmann. “Think about that. If a new store comes in, how can they make money?” A roundabout, with a possibly harrowing U-turn, would not help new businesses grow, she said. Pitsas said Stratton had the right idea when he began lobbying for state and federal money to improve the street. “Slow traffic down so people can see the businesses, yes,” she said. But business owners said the city doesn’t need to spend $14 million to accomplish that. Placing a traffi c light at the intersection with Church Street would have the same effect, they said. They weren’t too impressed by the idea of beautification, either. They said they’d prefer it if the street stayed the way it is — wide enough to be an airport runway and with little greenery amidst the concrete. Lou Buhrmaster said the mayor should also get rid of the wide median planned for the center of the street. It’s designed as a narrow park and in Stratton’s view makes the street look much prettier. But Buhrmaster said it’s just not practical because it stops drivers from crossing the street to get to businesses. “Erie Boulevard is not a walking street anymore. People drive. They are not going to be able to get places,” he said. A U-turn would help, he said, but he doesn’t think it’s enough. “The U-turn is not the ultimate answer. It’s an improvement over what we had [in the plan], but we’ve got to get rid of the roundabout,” he said. Stan Ducharme of Schenectady Hydraulics, whose driveway would be blocked by the roundabout, agreed. “I think they’re just trying to shut the bookstore down,” he said.
I thought those types (adult stuff) businesses were supposed to be in an industrial zone....is Erie Blvd zoned that? or were they grandfathered in? or is that not the code in the city/county?----We in Rotterdam must be careful that our industrial zones dont get filled with CRAP...........who is zooming whom here????
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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