Officials seek to reduce speed limit
Village Board members have set an Aug. 21 public hearing on a proposal to have the speed limit near Saugerties High School on Washington Avenue reduced from 30 mph to 25 mph and to 15 mph when classes are in session.
The session is scheduled for 5 p.m. in the fire station meeting room at 43 Partition Street.
The change was proposed during a meeting Monday, with Mayor William Murphy saying the town will be asked to join the effort since the municipal line is along the high school property.
“Why it was never a school zone there in the first place was because of its proximity to Cahill (Elementary School) where there was an existing school zone,” he said. “Now that there’s not a school zone at Cahill, we can put a school zone at the high school . ... It will overlap the town and the village because it’s right on the border line.”
Murphy said the Cahill lost its ability to be within a school zone when a traffic light was placed at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Main Street.
Trustees said there would be additional signs and road markings placed near the high school.
Trustee Terry Parisian said drivers generally travel too fast along Washington Avenue near the high school, which has its driveway near to the entrance to Cantine Field.
“During Stallions’ games, if you parked at the high school even with the crosswalk there people weren’t slowing down,” he said.
Murphy said the dangerous conditions are the result of “school kids and parents late for Little League games (are) usually the culprits.”