EYE ON SAFETY
After recent traffic deaths, executive plans enforcement, education, speed signs, road studies
Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger promised that the county will double down on road safety after three fatal-hit-and-run crashes and a fatal multi-vehicle crash this year.
Metzger spoke Monday at an Ulster County Sheriff’s Office press conference announcing the arrest of Ty Ty Kobelt, 33, of Gardiner, who was charged with being the driver who struck and killed SUNY New Paltz student Raymond E. Rattray on state Route 208 in January. Kobelt was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence and leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle crash, all felonies.
Kobelt is being held in the Ulster County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
“Going forward we have to do more to prevent tragedies like this,” Metzger said.
Metzger pledged the county will have zero tolerance for speeding, distracted driving and aggressive driving.
Metzger laid out the initiatives the county is considering to help prevent traffic violence.
The first initiative will include enhanced enforcement through the Sheriff’s Office, state police and local police departments, particularly in high-risk areas, she said.
Metzger said she has proposed a task force to help area police departments work together on beefing up enforcement.
The second part will see the county work with SUNY New Paltz and other partners on education and awareness, she said.
“The county is planning to undertake a major educational campaign targeted at drivers, as well as pedestrians and cyclists to make sure everyone understands the rules of the road and
respects them,” Metzger said.
Improving safety requires promoting a “culture of respect” for all ways of getting around whether by foot, bike or car, she said.
“We must all act as responsible citizens on the road,” Metzger said.
When asked if these initiatives would include any infrastructure improvements to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety for pedestrians such as “complete streets,” Metzger said the county would start by purchasing about 20 signs that tell drivers how fast drivers are going in real-time and tell them to slow down. The signs, which can be loaned out to municipalities, will collect speed data, she added.
“That will give us an empirical basis for any kind of complete streets kind of actions going forward,” Metzger said. After that the county will work with the respective municipalities to identify locations to slow traffic down, she added.
Metzger also noted that she called for the state Department of Transportation to conduct a traffic safety study on state Route 208 where Rattray was killed.
The request went to the state Department of Transportation in the form of a letter also signed by SUNY New Paltz President Darrell Wheeler, Town Supervisor Neil Bettez and Village Mayor Tim Rogers, Metzger said.
Officials have received numerous complaints about how dark that section of the highway is past the second SUNY New Paltz exit and how narrow the shoulder is in that area, she said.
“A lot of students are living in off-campus housing down that road,” Metzger said. “We have to address the engineering side too.”
Rattray’s death came nearly two weeks after Starllie Swonyoung, 21, of Saugerties, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on U.S. Route 9W in Saugerties. Malden residents Lacy L. Maxwell and Ryan M. Maxwell were arrested by Saugerties police on March 4. and charged in connection with Swonyoung’s death.
A third fatal hit-and-run happened at about 9:25 p.m. Friday, March 1, near The Falcon nightclub in Marlborough. The crash left Kingston residents Donna Cristallo, 72, and Stephen Celuch, 75, dead. Cristallo and Celuch died of injuries suffered when they were struck as they traveled across U.S. Route 9W, state police have said. The driver, Angela Jennie Fischl, 25, of Newburgh, “left the area and was stopped by the town of Newburgh police on North Plank Road,” state police said previously. Authorities said Monday they had no updates on the investigation of the Marlborough incident.
Metzger said she also requested a study for state Route 28 in Mount Tremper where two Kingston High School students, Jack Noble, 17, of Port Ewen, and Dillon Gokey, 16, were killed in a crash involving three passenger cars and a tractor-trailer at the intersection with state Route 212 on Jan. 8. A third students, Junior Joseph Sepesi, 17, of Port Ewen, was seriously injured in the crash, authorities have said.
Metzger said county officials plan to meet with state Department of Transportation officials soon to discuss these incidents.
As for county roads, Metzger said she has ordered the Ulster County Planning Department to update its complete streets policy for the first time since it was first adopted in 2008-2009. The plan would then be brought before the County Legislature for potential adoption, she said.
“There’s also interest in the village of New Paltz to update their complete streets policy,” she said.