Imperative: Blessing Road Safety Improvements
The Need
There is an urgent need for a Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvement Project for Blessing Road that would include paved shoulders and a sidewalk or a shared use path. The Town of Bethlehem must designate Blessing Road a priority situation.
Blessing Road is currently a dangerously unsafe situation for pedestrians and bikers and drivers. Blessing Road has numerous curves and changes in elevation that result in blind spots for drivers, pedestrians, and bikers. Blessing Road has no sidewalks, and unpaved shoulders, except for a short portion at the Rt. 85 end.
The dangers of unpaved, uneven, rocky shoulders affect drivers – no safe place to pull over in case of emergencies or evasive action, bikers – no safe lane causing drivers to swerve into oncoming traffic, and pedestrians – unsafe surfaces cause falls and physical injuries. This situation is a continuing hazard to the residents and a serious liability to the Town.
All communities off Blessing Road, an estimated 700 Bethlehem residents, are on cul de sacs. Residents must use Blessing Road to access the Rt. 85 by-pass and Krumkill Road to participate in adjacent community services and shop businesses. Furthermore, Google Maps contributes to increased traffic as it designates Blessing Road as a “preferred” route to Rt. 85 – because it is a shorter cut-through.
The Town of Bethlehem, in coordination with the Planning Board, have been aware of the growing communities off Blessing Road, and yet they have not, to date, addressed the infrastructure that serves these residents. It is time to make the safety modifications — before the Town approved new communities on the Eastern side of Blessing Road (e.g., Meadowbrook 3) becomes a reality and further increases usage.
The Promise
The Town of Bethlehem made a commitment to be more sustainable community. The Town Vision Statement states: Residents and visitors in Bethlehem live and work in a sustainable community that has a diversity of transportation options, and they routinely choose bicycling and walking for safe and efficient transportation and as a healthy option for recreation. The Town has committed to support a safe, accessible, and maintained network of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure for commuting, recreation, and daily trips.
The Town of Bethlehem is to be commended for their vision and efforts to make the town more sustainable and walkable. The Rail Trail and a variety of town parks (e.g., North Bethlehem) are major assets to the community. However, the residents of the Blessing Road neighborhood must use vehicle access to safely access these zero carbon sustainable areas.
Mapping the Area
Blessing Road is a major connector for vehicles, but a missing link for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. There are sidewalks on Krumkill Road and New Scotland Avenue, and wide paved shoulders on Route 85. CDTA bus stops are located along New Scotland Avenue and Western Avenue. The residents of the Blessing Road Neighborhood are unable to reach these connectors by walking or bicycling without significant risks. The Town’s current pedestrian and bicycle trail project, from Cherry Avenue to Price Chopper Plaza will be a welcome addition to the Town. The Blessing Road improvements that we are seeking would enable linkage to this new trail (and subsequently the Rail Trail) for pedestrians thru DEC’s Normanskill Fishing Access Site to sidewalks on New Scotland Avenue or for bicyclists along Route 85.
Background
The Need for safety improvements has been discussed and promoted by neighborhood residents for years. The Town has recognized the issue and cited the need for and benefits of sidewalks as far back as 2008 (Board Meeting, 4/19/08 minutes).
The Blessing Road Neighborhood consists of the houses along Blessing and the adjacent subdivision of Brookhill (Bradhaven Road and Whitestone Way), Stafford Crossings (Stafford Crossing and Mosall Drive), Eastmount (Eton Drive, Sandhurst Drive, Rugby Road, Oxford Road and Meadowbrook Drive); as well as Meadowbrook Apartments and Bethlehem Terrace Apartments. Two additional large subdivisions that would exit onto Blessing have been proposed. In addition, the subdivisions along Krumkill and Russell Roads, and the Beverwyck retirement community (including the Terrace and Eddy Village Green) are using Blessing Road for access to Bethlehem businesses and services. There are currently an estimated one thousand residents in the catchment area of Blessing Road.
Blessing Road is a 1.2 mile major connector road used by thousands of vehicles daily. Traffic from neighborhoods enter Blessing Road at six (6) intersections between Krumkill Rd and Rt 85 circle and twenty (20) driveways. Traffic is heavy at all times of the day, much of it traveling over the speed limit. A report from 2011 documented a weekday daily average of more than 6,500 vehicles at an average speed of 39 MPH, including 15% of vehicles traveling at speeds over 44 MPH. The posted speed limit is 30 MPH. Area residents agree that the volume and speed of traffic has increased significantly over the past 11 years, and will continue to increase with new developments in town, such as Plug Power. Emergency response vehicles including Police, Fire Department and ambulances travel Blessing daily at high rates of speed. There are no shoulders for other vehicles to move over to clear a path. Numerous large vehicles, including School buses, Town DPW trucks, waste management companies, USPS, delivery vehicles such as Amazon and FedEx, and lawn care service trucks and trailers, transverse Blessing Road on a daily basis.
Nearby Destinations served by Blessing Road include: Entrances to the Northway and NYS Thruway; shopping hubs like Stuyvesant Plaza, Crossgates Mall, Price Chopper and Vista Plazas; University of Albany and numerous businesses along Western Avenue/Rt 20. Recreational facilities, including the North Bethlehem Town Park/Bike Trails and the DEC Normanskill Fishing Access Site are located at the end of Blessing Road. Albany Baptist Church and Warren Washington Albany ARC are located at the north end of Blessing.
Prepared by Lanny & Joan Cross