Residents ask for lane to be one way
Residents ask for Schoolhouse Lane to be one way
Town Board members have been asked to have Schoolhouse Lane become a one-way street while also seeking more police monitoring for use by trucks that are not taking the required detour for the U.S. Route 209 closure.
The concerns were raised during a recent meeting, with resident Gail Whistance noting trucks are not able to make the sharp turn onto Main Street when using Schoolhouse Lane as a shortcut.
“They have a choice of either turning right or left and most likely going over the (bluestone) sidewalk or ... back down Schoolhouse Lane to Russell Road,” she said. “That I thought was a pretty extreme example of the problems that are on that road.”
The road goes behind Ernest C. Myer Elementary School and goes between the Hurley Heritage Society building and Hurley Library at the intersection with Main Street.
“It’s a narrow road, it’s not striped, there’s no shoulders or sidewalks along it,” Whistance said.
The road has become an option for drivers seeking to get to Hurley Avenue, although that is supposed to be off-limits to large vehicles. Tractor-trailers are supposed to take Wynkoop Lane to Hurley Mountain Road and then to state Route 28 as the detour.
However, Whistance notes the road ordinarily presents a risk for pedestrians even when it is not used as a detour.
“Traffic comes up from Russell Road ... and cars really go too fast along there,” she said.
“It’s got an elementary school on it,” Whistance said. “Luckily, the kids aren’t left off or picked up on that side anymore ... So the kids aren’t coming in and out there, at least on a daily basis.”
Resident Tom Bennett said there is a limited sight distance on the street.
“Where you’ve got anybody coming over that road on a bike or walking and two cars (are passing) I’ve seen many situations where I feel like a pedestrian’s going to get hit,” he said. “People are walking their dogs and (drivers) are going way too fast.”
Bennett noted part of a retaining wall near the school has collapsed.
“Last year there was a car (on the road) and one of the bricks fell over and hit that and ripped a tire off,” he said.
Town officials said they would review whether signs are need to be placed alerting truck drivers to avoid using Schoolhouse Road and what is needed to have it become a one way street.