July 21, 2006
Dear Supervisor Block, the Comprehensive Plan Committee and Members of the Rhinebeck Town Board:
This letter focuses on a situation that merits consideration in plans for our area’s future: traffic safety in Rhinecliff.
A car nearly clipped a woman when jogging. A school bus and car collided on a sharp curve. Cars killed three cats next door, and a dog down the street. An older lifelong resident who likes to walk says, “You wouldn’t believe how cars fly by.” And drivers rushing to catch the train often blow right past the stop sign – a shock to a mother waiting to cross with a baby carriage. Speeding cars and trucks are a concern each and every day on Kelly Street.
We live on Kelly Street with our two young children, Lily, aged 2, and Nicholas, aged 4. More than a dozen other young children also live along this street. We walk with our children to the library, to the post office and to the river’s edge. We walk a lot – it’s part of why we love Rhinecliff.
Attached is a field investigation that we commissioned because we were so concerned about traffic safety:
1. Chazen Engineering identified non-compliance with stopping site distance requirements at nine locations along Kelly Street. Nine locations failed to comply with Dutchess County Department of Public Works (DCDPW) standards, among them four locations that also failed to comply with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The report also found “difficult pedestrian travel” and “no pedestrian travel ways”.
2. A petition signed by residents of 30 houses along Kelly Street asked the Town of Rhinebeck to arrange for a qualified traffic engineer to meet with residents and discuss options for a lasting solution.
3. The petition and engineering report were submitted to the Town of Rhinebeck in April 2003 and again in April 2005.
No effective action has been taken. Several yellow signs posted last year make no impact on speed, according to the New York State Highway Design Manual and our experience.
We do have options: squeeze lanes with curbs and paint, alter the road surface, reclassify the street so the double lines can be repainted white, return curves to four-corners, create paths or pedestrian walkways, add highly visible “Welcome to …” signage, conduct driver awareness campaigns, and enforce a legal speed limit of 25 mph or less. Let’s discuss these options and others.
While the number of cars may be low today, traffic pressure is certain to increase. And although the engineering report covers only one street, people in all parts of the hamlet tell us that they are concerned about traffic. Development proposals surround Rhinecliff but no professional, comprehensive, effective plan to manage traffic is on the table.
Real dangers go unaddressed; we need action now before volume grows.
Sincerely,
Chris Gould and Susan Guthridge-Gould