Noise and diesel fumes. These are some of the concerns District 6 Albany County Legislator Dannielle Hille says residents have raised after the proposal of a bus terminal.
Last month, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy announced that the county was seeking partners to help develop the site of a former McDonald’s on South Pearl Street into a terminal that would serve regional carriers like Greyhound, Adirondack Trailways and Peter Pan. But Hille is now calling for a thoughtful community review of the proposal. She discussed her concerns with WAMC's Andrew Waite.
Dannielle Hille: My constituents are concerned with the impact that placing a bus station at the old McDonald's would create. I've heard a lot of concerns about the busses, additional diesel fumes, additional noise, and also the concern that the bus stop will attract individuals that are not necessarily being positive impacts to the community, or having a positive impact on the community.
Andrew Waite: Do you feel like this advanced without proper community input to this point?
Hille: So, I obviously wasn't in place. I wasn't appointed as the county legislator until Feb. 9. And I believe that it's really important for residents to have a voice in decisions like this. I also think it's important during the time when you give them a voice, to be able to discuss their concerns. Some concerns may can be alleviated simply by providing further information on them, like, are the busses going to be allowed to idle while waiting for pickup? I don't have an answer to that at this point, but it's a valid question, because that if, if the you know, if they're allowed to idle, then that obviously is going to increase the impact of diesel fumes, or what steps are going to be taken to ensure that it is a clean and safe environment for residents?
Waite: So what do you think a thoughtful review would look like? What's a process that you and your constituents would be satisfied with?
Hille: So a thoughtful review would include town halls. Make sure that residents get to come out, they get to voice their concerns, they get to voice their thoughts, and then gathering information on the concerns that they have, and being able to bring that back to them, and then seeing where if they still feel that this is not something that they think is appropriate in that location.
Waite: Has this already advanced farther than you would like to have seen it advanced?
Hille: Yes, I think that these should have come before the announcement was made. But, unfortunately, these communities, this area of the 6th District, tends to find out about stuff farther down the process, the planning process, then it should, and this is been a historical problem for this neighborhood or this it's not just a neighborhood. It’s this portion of the 6th District and the area surrounding where this plus station would go.
Waite: Have you, have you heard it all from the county executive, other county leaders about the possibility of establishing the kind of process you're talking about with town halls?
Hille: So I informed them that I was going to request a pause on this, and I'm going to set up town hall meetings to hear from my constituents. I'm not going I'm not going to let their concerns fall on deaf ears. I'm going to make sure that their concerns are taken into consideration, that they're provided with the proper information, and that we move forward in a way that is respectful of and inclusive of the residents that live in that area.
Waite: And I'm wondering, are you hearing from folks who wish that there was a return to a plan of having a grocery store there? Obviously, it was a grocery store for a short time, and that was kind of a doomed effort. Is that part of the conversation you're hearing from the people you represent?
Hille: So not at this point. It's just mostly been as I said. They're not really saying that they want something different. What they're saying like they're not pointing to things that it could be, if not a bus station, what they what they're pointing to, is the impact on the community. First, you know, a deeper dive into the conversation may result in some alternative ideas, or it may result in the bus station being what the community wants once the impact has been alleviated.
Albany County Executive McCoy has said community feedback will be incorporated before any construction begins.
