ROTTERDAM Study addresses deadly crossing Remedies sought for cycling trail near Exit 26 BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Rick Chandler slowed as he rode his bicycle across Route 5S on the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike trail. But the Massachusetts visitor didn’t come to a full stop until he saw the solemn white 10-speed chained to a wooden barrier on the other side. He paused to read the bright yellow sign identifying the stripped-down bicycle as a memorial to Al Fairbanks, an avid cyclist who fell victim to a dangerous intersection between the two thoroughfares in November 2006. “You take your life in your own hands,” he said, looking at the crossing. “You just have to be careful and take it easy.” Friends said the 73-year-old Fairbanks came to a stop before attempting to cross the road, though police investigators dispute this claim. He was struck by a car and died from his injuries about a month later. The white cycle mysteriously appeared at the site this week and is one of several around the Capital Region. It now serves as both a tribute to Fairbanks and a warning to cyclists approaching the problem intersection. Perhaps fittingly, the reminder was placed on the trail the same week Rotterdam officials unveiled the Exit 26 and Interstate 890 landuse and transportation study. An outpouring of concern brought the trail crossing to the forefront of the Capital District Transportation Committee-funded study, even though it wasn’t an intended focus. “It’s a bad intersection,” said Peter Comenzo, the town planner. Among its many recommendations, the study suggests narrowing the curb cut of Old Crawford Road at the Route 5S intersection by the trail crossing and moving the intersection west to improve the line of sight. Also recommended were traffic calming devices, such as weave-pattern markings on the roadway on both approaches to the trail. Much of the concern for the trail crossing was raised by Fred Thomson, a member of the Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail and longtime friend of Alan Fairbanks. Comenzo said Thomson approached the committee from the outset and asked to sit in on discussions about the study. Comenzo said part of the impetus of the study is to lay the ground work for potential grant funding for improvements. The study is among three conducted by the town since 2004 and is expected to be adopted into an extensive update of Rotterdam’s comprehensive plan. Aside from the trail intersection, the 48-page Exit 26 study makes a host of recommendations that would serve to guide development in the largely undeveloped area from the SI Group manufacturing in Lower Rotterdam Junction to the I-890 interchange. For instance, the study recommends installing a 5-foot-wide sidewalk and 5-foot grassy strip from the trail intersection to Mabie Lane. Besides the sidewalk, the study recommended tweaking the zoning of Lower Rotterdam Junction to embrace a “village concept” of development. This designation would be marked by more compact development, connected streets and minimal off-street parking so that the area would encourage pedestrian and bicycle travel. Farther south near I-890, the study recommended a “planned business development district” immediately west of the highway in an area known as the Baan Farm. Proper zoning and easy access to the highway would help draw agricultural, warehousing, transportation, freight and distribution facilities. Another recommendation calls for the creation of a “green ribbon” along the Mohawk River’s edge that would be maintained in its natural state. The area would span from east to west along the waterfront and would be accessible by the public. Supervisor Steve Tommasone hopes to schedule public hearings for the update sometime late this summer or in the early fall. He said Comenzo’s work on the Exit 26 study, along with both the Exit 25 and Exit 25A studies, will offer the town a document that will help guide development into the future. “We will finally have the pieces coming together to help everyone in Rotterdam and those doing business here to know what the town will look like in the future,” he said. A bicycle is chained to a wooden barrier at the Route 5S bike path crossing in Rotterdam in memory of a man who was hit by a car at that spot and later died of his injuries. MARC SCHULTZ/ GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER
I noticed that and think that it's a great idea. While driving by, I didn't realize it was a memorial, however, it did pique my interest and remind me that there could have been someone around that was looking to be crossing. In fact, in driving through this area, I thought that it was an actual bike, not a memorial.
That crossing has always been bad for the younger children and us slower moving adults so maybe there should be a lower enforced speed limit in that area and a larger sign warning motorists of the hazardous bike crossing.
Logged
