By DIANE VALDEN
ANCRAM—The results of the much anticipated engineer’s evaluation and traffic study of the notoriously scary County Route 7 / State Route 82 intersection are in, now it’s up to residents to say what they think should be done about it.
Ancram Town Councilmember Amy Gold introduced the study during the Town Board Workshop session October 17, saying she had received the comprehensive 80-page report from the Albany engineering firm of Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. (GPI).
A majority of Town Board members voted in favor of enlisting the services of GPI back in June for $14,000 to study the intersection and come back with data and recommendations about how to fix it. The decision to spend the money did not sit well with Councilmember David Boice and some residents who said it was not the responsibility of the town to pay for the study, but rather that the state or the county should pay since those entities have jurisdiction over the two intersection roads. When it came to a vote, all board members were in favor, except Mr. Boice.
Ms. Gold, who has been meeting with county and state officials about the intersection hazards, told The Columbia Paper recently that all parties agreed that nothing could be done until a road engineering study was completed. The “state has a five-year backlog” on such projects/studies and “the county can’t do anything without the state,” said Councilmember Gold, who called the situation “a Catch-22.”
Noting her concern that the town could bear some liability with regard to the intersection, Ms. Gold cited a State Supreme Court case regarding a serious personal injury accident that occurred at an intersection in Red Hook, Dutchess County.
According to a February 2024 story in The Daily Catch, “County Ordered to Pay $6.5 Million in Grisly 2018 Linden Avenue-Rockefeller Lane Car Accident; Jury Blames Dangerous Intersection”: “.. jurors concluded that the county [was] negligent in not completing a traffic study on Rockefeller Lane or installing stop signs, as Red Hook residents have requested after a deadly 2007 accident at the same intersection. The devastating outcome for [the victim] may have been preventable, the jurors ruled.”
Dutchess County was “found partly liable in a 2018 Red Hook traffic accident that severely impacted the life of a young Hudson man…the jury in the civil case…ordered the county to pay [the victim] $6.5 million.”
The GPI report notes with regard to the County Route 7 / State Route 82 intersection, “There is a desire by the Town to improve operations and safety at this skewed intersection with limited sight distance. The goal of this study is to assess existing traffic conditions, document the operational and safety needs of the intersection, and develop recommendations for potential intersection improvements.”
The first 15 pages of the report cover all aspects of the intersection from existing conditions including: roadway description, right of way review, data collection, sight distance evaluation, crash history and existing traffic volumes.
Other sections include: Historic Areas Review, Operating conditions and Alternative Consideration.
“The intersection has a triangular island with a historic war memorial and all property surrounding the intersection are on the historic registry. The intersection is also adjacent to the Ancram fire department, whose paved area is routinely used by turning trucks that can’t make the turn from eastbound NY-82 to southbound CR 7 because of the intersection skew. The inability of trucks to make right turn movements at this intersection combined with the severely limited sight distance on the southbound approach are significant safety concerns the Town would like to address.”
A field review was conducted for the report July 23 and July 25 which included data collection of information pertaining to traffic counts, sight distances, existing roadway geometry, traffic speeds, and traffic observations.
Crash history data for five years December 31, 2018 through December 31, 2023 was collected from the State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). A total of four crashes occurred during that time period—all of them property damage only.
The report notes that “although there were just a few crashes at the intersection, field and video observations showed a high frequency of near misses at the intersection. There was one observation of a passenger exiting a vehicle to guide the driver through the intersection and/or ensure it was safe to cross. Instances of users getting confused and making unsafe or erratic maneuvers was also observed.
“The severely limited sight distance, even without a significant crash history, is a safety concern that needs to be addressed.”
The report contains an analysis of whether an all-way-stop signal is warranted at the intersection. Conditions at the intersection do not meet most criteria for an all-way-stop, but the report does note, “All-way stop control may be installed at an intersection where an engineering study indicates that sight distance on the minor-road approaches controlled by a STOP sign is not adequate for a vehicle to turn onto o[r] cross the major (uncontrolled) road.
“Given the severely limited sight distance for the southbound approach, this criterion would apply and would justify the installation of all-way stop control at the intersection. This, however, is subject to NYSDOT approval as NY Route 82 is owned and maintained by them.”
Options for improving conditions at the intersection start with new striping on County Route 7 northbound with a more noticeable stop bar location to significantly reduce confusion about right-of-way for drivers (even though there is a flashing red light). Other options include realignment of the northern and southern approaches to the intersection, relocation of a stairway to a private residence on the northern approach and the construction of a roundabout. Cost estimates are given for each option with the roundabout being the most costly at $2.5 million. The report also contains numerous photos, renderings, diagrams, charts and an extensive Historic Registry Records section.
The complete report is available to the public on the Town of Ancram website at www.ancramny.org.
Ms. Gold asks that the public read the report and send their comments and questions to her at amyrgold@gmail.com before to the next meeting. A public workshop and discussion on the intersection will take place at 6 p.m. prior to the next Town Board meeting Thursday, November 14 (the meeting has been rescheduled from the regular third Thursday). GPI VP Michael Wieszchowski will be at the workshop meeting to answer questions and concerns. Ms. Gold will forward the public’s emails to Mr. Wieszchowski so he can come prepared to respond.
To contact Diane Valden email dvalden@columbiapaper.com
