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Truck route upsets K’hook residents
by Paul Crossman
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
KINDERHOOK — Truck routes have recently become a hot issue throughout the county, and it seems things are no different in the Village of Kinderhook, as many residents gathered recently to discuss the damage which was being done to historical houses in the district.
Nearly 40 community members crowded into the Reformed Church in Kinderhook to discuss the issue, as well as a representative from the State Police, and two representatives from the Department of Transportation.
The forum was held by the Kinderhook Neighbors for Good Growth (KNGG), a not-for-profit organization whose main goal is the planned development and preservation of the Village of Kinderhook.
KNGG called the meeting because they feel that the constant heavy truck traffic through the village is causing vibrations which, slowly but surely, are doing damage to the historic homes, some of which have been in the area since the 1700s.
The main issues, according to the organization, are enforcement and Department of Transportation regulations, both of which many of the community members felt needed more attention than they were getting.
When asked how to get better enforcement for the area around the village, Trooper Anderson replied that the best course of action would be for the villagers to repeatedly call the Livingston station and complain about the traffic and the trucks, saying that they want more patrols, radar traps, etc.
He also said that the biggest problem with enforcement is that the department can’t let an officer sit in one spot all day waiting for speeders or trucks.
“If I go up there for an hour or two and there are no trucks,” he said, referring specifically to McCagg Road, “they’re not going to let me sit there all day.”
Other residents suggested that the DOT force trucks to use an alternate route, such as 9H to 66 to get into Hudson, but DOT representatives said there are problems with this approach as well.
“The problem is that truckers and companies pay taxes too,” one representative told the crowd. “They have the same right to use the highways as everyone else.”
Community member and partial organizer of the even Alexandra Anderson-Spivy though, voiced what seemed to be the opinion of many people in the crowd when she said that she simply couldn’t believe that there was nothing that could be done about the trucks in their community.
The DOT though, said that even if they did put “no thru traffic” signs up and tell people not to take route 9 through the village, it would just redirect the truck traffic into other neighboring towns, and that the best way to solve the problem would be to work together with other communities to try and work out the best route.
The general feeling of the crowd was that the best way to deal with the issue of speeders and increased truck traffic on the road would be increased enforcement, and if it wasn’t feasible to get it from the police department, perhaps the town should consider hiring off duty police officers. This suggestion was met with approval by the crowd as something that should definitely be looked into, as the cost would be well within the village budget.
Lowering the speed limit on the entire stretch of road from Greenport to Kinderhook Village was a fix many residents felt would be somewhat useless, as one of the problems is that people aren’t obeying the speed limits that are already in place.
Kinderhook Town Supervisor Doug McGivney also attended the meeting, and said he believed that while something needs to be done about speeders and trucks on the road, it was a tough issue, because even if a change of speed limit is applied for, it generally takes 2-3 years to be granted, and there is no guarantee that this would happen.
McGivney, along with Anderson-Spivy, urged the people at the meeting to take an active role in the situation by writing letters and calling their local legislators about the issue, as well as attend town and village board meetings to voice their opinions.
“If you want to know what’s going on, you have to go to the meetings,” said Anderson-Spivy.
Other community members agreed.
“We all need to work together as a community,” said one concerned resident, “and form a coalition between all the different factions so we can work together better.”
There is also a rewrite of a section of law in progress which, if passed, would give the DOT more authority over various sections of road, which might make it easier to regulate truck routes in the future.
For more information on the Kinderhook Neighbors for Good Growth, visit their website at www.kngg.org.
To reach reporter Paul Crossman call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mail pcrossman@registerstar.com.
Nearly 40 community members crowded into the Reformed Church in Kinderhook to discuss the issue, as well as a representative from the State Police, and two representatives from the Department of Transportation.
The forum was held by the Kinderhook Neighbors for Good Growth (KNGG), a not-for-profit organization whose main goal is the planned development and preservation of the Village of Kinderhook.
KNGG called the meeting because they feel that the constant heavy truck traffic through the village is causing vibrations which, slowly but surely, are doing damage to the historic homes, some of which have been in the area since the 1700s.
The main issues, according to the organization, are enforcement and Department of Transportation regulations, both of which many of the community members felt needed more attention than they were getting.
When asked how to get better enforcement for the area around the village, Trooper Anderson replied that the best course of action would be for the villagers to repeatedly call the Livingston station and complain about the traffic and the trucks, saying that they want more patrols, radar traps, etc.
He also said that the biggest problem with enforcement is that the department can’t let an officer sit in one spot all day waiting for speeders or trucks.
“If I go up there for an hour or two and there are no trucks,” he said, referring specifically to McCagg Road, “they’re not going to let me sit there all day.”
Other residents suggested that the DOT force trucks to use an alternate route, such as 9H to 66 to get into Hudson, but DOT representatives said there are problems with this approach as well.
“The problem is that truckers and companies pay taxes too,” one representative told the crowd. “They have the same right to use the highways as everyone else.”
Community member and partial organizer of the even Alexandra Anderson-Spivy though, voiced what seemed to be the opinion of many people in the crowd when she said that she simply couldn’t believe that there was nothing that could be done about the trucks in their community.
The DOT though, said that even if they did put “no thru traffic” signs up and tell people not to take route 9 through the village, it would just redirect the truck traffic into other neighboring towns, and that the best way to solve the problem would be to work together with other communities to try and work out the best route.
The general feeling of the crowd was that the best way to deal with the issue of speeders and increased truck traffic on the road would be increased enforcement, and if it wasn’t feasible to get it from the police department, perhaps the town should consider hiring off duty police officers. This suggestion was met with approval by the crowd as something that should definitely be looked into, as the cost would be well within the village budget.
Lowering the speed limit on the entire stretch of road from Greenport to Kinderhook Village was a fix many residents felt would be somewhat useless, as one of the problems is that people aren’t obeying the speed limits that are already in place.
Kinderhook Town Supervisor Doug McGivney also attended the meeting, and said he believed that while something needs to be done about speeders and trucks on the road, it was a tough issue, because even if a change of speed limit is applied for, it generally takes 2-3 years to be granted, and there is no guarantee that this would happen.
McGivney, along with Anderson-Spivy, urged the people at the meeting to take an active role in the situation by writing letters and calling their local legislators about the issue, as well as attend town and village board meetings to voice their opinions.
“If you want to know what’s going on, you have to go to the meetings,” said Anderson-Spivy.
Other community members agreed.
“We all need to work together as a community,” said one concerned resident, “and form a coalition between all the different factions so we can work together better.”
There is also a rewrite of a section of law in progress which, if passed, would give the DOT more authority over various sections of road, which might make it easier to regulate truck routes in the future.
For more information on the Kinderhook Neighbors for Good Growth, visit their website at www.kngg.org.
To reach reporter Paul Crossman call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mail pcrossman@registerstar.com.
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getalife wrote on Nov 4, 2009 11:06 AM: