Plattekill, NY – “I’m highly disappointed and I know the residents are, too,” said Ulster County Legislator Kevin Roberts in response to a recent letter from New York State Department of Transportation regarding repeated requests from local residence and county officials to reduce the speed limit for a detour on Forest Road during the highway construction project for the New York State Thruway Bridge over Route 32.
Forest Road, also known as CR 20, spans the border between Ulster and Orange Counties to NY State Route 300 and has been designated as part of a detour when work begins in July to reconstruct the NYS Thruway Bridge overpass on NYS Route 32. The speed limit on Forest Road in the Town of Plattekill in Ulster County has always been 45MPH with the speed limit increasing to 55 MPH immediately upon crossing the Ulster County boundary into the Town of Newburgh in Orange County.
NYSDOT plans for the detour will reduce the speed limit in the Orange County section to from 55 MPH to 45 MPH but they did not reduce the speed limit in Ulster County keeping it at 45 MPH in Ulster. Roberts noted the Ulster County section has numerous driveways and intersections that warrant a lower speed limit and feels the speed limit on the Ulster County section of Forest Road should have been reduced to at least 35 MPH during the detour.
“This is a huge volume of traffic being funneled into this country road,” said Roberts. Reducing the speed limit 10 MPH like they did in Orange County, is the prudent and reasonable thing to do.”
Roberts sponsored an Ulster County Legislative resolution in April asking NYSDOT to reduce the speed limit to 35 MPH in Ulster County and supporting the request for a traffic study. In the resolution, Roberts sited both police and citizens reports and observations of dangerous conditions caused by numerous driveways and intersections. He noted that the Town Board of the Town of Newburgh made a formal request for a traffic study as well.
In a letter dated June 19, 2017 NYSDOT Regional Traffic Engineer Adam Levine responded to the Ulster County Legislature’s request stating “The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) had determined that the temporary speed limit for the detour will be 45 MPH.”
“Clearly, they don’t get it.” said Roberts. “There are too many house, driveways and kids riding bikes, for the volume of cars and trucks that routinely use Route 32.”
Roberts is also working with the Ulster County Sheriff’s office and asking for increased police presence for the duration of the detour to enforce the speed limit and encourages drivers who will be using this route to be especially vigilant and avoid distractions like using cell phones or other diversions in the car.
“Everyone understands the need for the detour and is willing to tolerate the added traffic for a few months, but we want it to be safe.”
(Photo shows the high density of homes along a section of Forest Road in Plattekill)
Attachments
June 19, 2019 letter from NYSDOT
Ulster County Legislature Resolution No. 145 of April 2017
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