‘Road diet’ election delayed

Vote on Delaware Avenue project pushed to November

After weeks of debate, the Town Board has decided to push an election on the Delaware Avenue reconstruction project to November.

The board’s recent decision came after nearly 1,500 Bethlehem residents signed a petition for a citizen referendum, which forces the town to take the uncommon step of asking voters to directly approve bond funding for a $5.2 million highway project along Delaware Avenue that was approved by the board in April. The town is applying for state and federal grants that would reimburse the town for much of the project’s costs.

Per state law, the referendum vote would have had to take place in the form of a special election between Aug. 10 and 25. But most board members agreed to have the vote take place on Nov. 2, a general election day, arguing that it would allow for greater voter turnout and save the town the estimated $10,000 cost of holding a special election.

“I believe that our laws are meant to be implemented in a way that benefits the

people,” Town Supervisor David Vanluven said during a board meeting late last month. “We have law and lawyers and courts that say we as a town board can make this referendum vote accessible to the most voters most easily by holding it in November. To me it’s about access and it’s about making it as easy as possible for people to participate in the decision-making process.”

Town Attorney James Potter has explained in board meetings that according to state law, the vote has to take place between 90 to 100 days from when the petition was submitted, which would be in August. However, Potter said the town code allows the board to rescind their April vote authorizing the project, readopt the issue and vote again by the end of July so that the referendum vote can be held in November.

The board followed Potter’s legal advice, adopting a resolution that committed to revote on the issue on a later date.

All but one Town Board member voted in favor of the resolution. Jim Foster, the sole Republican on the Town Board, said he was against the resolution because he believed it to be a “tortured interpretation of town law,” though he agreed more voters would turn out to the November general election than a special election in August.

Maureen Cunningham, another board member, said she took issue with people questioning the Town Board’s integrity and didn’t

understand the controversy over making the election more accessible to more people.

“There is nothing nefarious about this,” she said. “This is about getting the most people to vote on a very important issue that affects everybody in this town. I’m glad we’re having a referendum so that we can know truly where the majority of voters stand on this.”

The construction project in question, known as the Delaware Avenue Complete Streets Project, has been stirring up controversy in the town for months — though it was proposed in 2016. At last week’s town board meeting alone, the public comment period lasted well over an hour with residents speaking for and against the project.

The plan would reduce a busy 1.3-mile stretch of Delaware Avenue that connects the hamlet of Delmar to Albany from four lanes down to two as part of a so-called “road diet” designed to reduce crashes and improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists by freeing up space for turn lanes, bike lanes and more crosswalks.

Supporters of the project also say that creating a more pedestrian-friendly area will encourage more businesses to open up there.

Project opponents say it will create more traffic and harm businesses because of road closures during construction.