RSS 2.0 FeedThursday, November 10, 2011, Freeport-Baldwin Leader
Traffic safety occupies village board
'Serious intersections and have serious histories..'
Though the agenda for Monday’s regular village board meeting was exceptionally brief, a lengthy discussion ensued over whether to make portions of three streets intersecting with North Main Street one way in the interest of traffic safety.
In the end, the motion to make the changes died for lack of a second.
The amendment would have made one-block sections of East Milton Street and East Dean Street between North Main and Jay Street and Woodside Avenue between North Main and Powell one-way in an easterly direction.
Mayor Andrew Hardwick, who strongly favored making the changes, explained that the selected streets had been the scenes of traffic fatalities in recent months and that the village was unable to have stop lights installed at those intersections.
North Main is a heavily traveled commercial thoroughfare and large trucks making deliveries to businesses park along the curb and obstruct the view of oncoming vehicles for motorists along these side streets, posing a major risk for an accident.
Trustee William White questioned whether a traffic study had been made to determine the feasibility of changing the direction of the three streets.
Apparently the police department had not been asked to provide traffic statistics and the Department of Public Works had not done a traffic study and Mr. White called for a study to be done before any action is taken.
Assistant Superintendent for Public Works Ben Terzulli said that “No criteria was set forth to warrant a one-way street designation” and that the other options to address the safety problem are either to prohibit left turns onto North Main, or to eliminate parking near the intersections.
Mayor Hardwick responded that a “no left turn designation doesn’t help. You can’t see oncoming traffic in the first lane you’re driving into because of all the vehicles blocking your vision. It’s a danger zone because of the big trucks you can’t see past.”
The mayor had stated earlier that eliminating parking was “unrealistic” on a commercial street.
He added that “These are serious intersections and have serious histories” and hopes the issue can be resolved quickly.
Trustees acted on three other agenda items: approving sidewalk repairs totaling $3,993, advertising for a tax lien sale of real property for unpaid village taxes, and approving a banner on South Main in November and December indicating registration dates for the Freeport Little League.
There was no public comment at the meeting, though Alan Jay made a statement urging that more public comments from the meetings be included in the village’s cable channel programming. Mayor Hardwick said he agreed with Mr. Jay and would seek to increase the meeting coverage at the next cable contract negotiations.
Trustees adjourned to executive session after their 20-minute meeting.
