The Capital District Transportation Council held its second workshop for residents to weigh in on the Hoosick Road Corridor Study this week.
The study, which began in 2022, is meant to identify where improvements can be made on Hoosick Road from Troy’s Lake Avenue to Sweetmilk Creek Road in Brunswick.
Residents want to reduce congestion, minimize the effects of traffic on adjacent neighborhoods, and increase pedestrian and cyclist safety. They also have concerns over potential future development, and the lane merge east of the Lake Avenue intersection.
In the open-ended comment section of a survey conducted by the council, a large number of respondents support widening the road, a project that is deemed unfeasible for the current structure of the road.
Sandy Misiewicz is the Executive Director for the Capital Region Transportation Council.
“We’re hearing a wide variety of responses. I think people are intrigued with the idea of coordinating the traffic signals in the corridor,” Misiewicz said. “I think they're interested in seeing some of those technology improvements be implemented. And I think there's still concern about some recent development in the area and how that might impact things.”
Misiewicz says transitioning to adaptive traffic signals, speed humps, chicanes, pinch points, and electronic driver feedback or live speed signs could all help to calm traffic.
Over a five-year period between May 2017 and 2022, nearly 600 crashes were reported, according to data from the Transportation Council. The study finds nearly 60 percent were rear-end crashes on the west end of the corridor, which researchers say is indicative of stop-and-go traffic. Misiewicz says roundabouts, installed at the intersections of Grange Road and NY-142 and Lord Avenue, could help calm traffic and enhance mobility. She adds the widening of the roadway to two-lanes eastbound at Roosevelt Ave., which the town got the greenlight for, could also alleviate traffic.
“We understand that there are signals (traffic lights) in the corridor so you have to arrange it and design it in a way that will allow all the traffic to flow smoothly with the traffic signals working in concert with roundabouts,” Misiewicz said. “Roundabouts are definitely a tool that can do a lot for a corridor like this.”
The study finds the corridor lacks parallel routes to connect local traffic to the region, meaning both local and through traffic are using Hoosick Road, with few options to avoid the busy roadway.
Proposed changes meant to improve local access include connections from S. Lake Avenue and Riccardi Lane, Riccardi Lane Extension to Brunswick Road (or NY 2), and Brunswick Drive to Betts Road.
Jesse Vogel, a senior planner with Creighton Manning Engineering, says the connections may not take away traffic from Hoosick Road, but could help locals looking to avoid it.
“The roads would likely have similar character to the existing neighborhood streets and provide benefits to the local neighborhoods by reducing the need to travel onto Hoosick Road. So minor reduction in traffic on Hoosick Road benefit to neighborhoods by being able to access destinations without needing to sit on Hoosick Road and also improved connectivity for emergency response,” Vogel said.
At the workshop at the Brunswick Community Center, neighbors on Riccardi Lane gathered in a corner discussing their observations. A majority of the 11 residents said they don’t want Riccardi Lane to become an access road. Michael O’Connor is concerned that the proposals aren’t meant to benefit the residents of Brunswick.
“This is here to benefit the corporations that agree putting in chain restaurants, and the out-of-towners who are using Hoosick Road as a pass through,” O’Connor said. “So, by putting in an extension road, all they're going to do is take the same traffic and have it come in from two different ends, as opposed to coming in from one end, it's not going to relieve the real issue, which is there's too many cars on one street with too many businesses that none of us locals are using because we can't get to them.”
Other concerns lie within land use and the continued growth of industry. Some residents say the town has been reckless in allowing new businesses in the area without considering the impact on the safety and wellbeing of residents. Tim Galvin lives on Hoosick Street and says the area is losing its identity.
“The new traffic light when they built the Hannaford a year or two ago, it’s added to more traffic congestion on Hoosick Road. It used to be the West Lane was like the one that would flow a bit more,” Galvin said. “But now that new traffic light, even the west side has been heavily congested. I mean, there are times when you're coming down from Tamarac, and then you get to like the Stewart’s or the Tractor Supply and you're sitting in traffic which should take like five minutes there, it's now taking 20 minutes.”
Other suggestions proposed by the council include the removal and relocation of bus stops along the road, more pedestrian walkways, a reduction in driveways, and limiting what direction drivers can turn.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Capital District Transportation Authority said, “We support the work the Capital Region Transportation Council is doing to alleviate traffic along the Hoosick Road corridor. We look forward to working together to create improved transit for everyone."
Brunswick Town Supervisor Phil Herrington did not respond to requests for comment.
More information about the study can be found here or at hoosickroadstudy.com
