Dear Residents,
Congratulations to our volunteer fire department and everyone who came out to vote in support of the Length of Service Award Program! It passed the village-wide referendum 69-2 yesterday. Thanks to all who worked on this over the past year. You know who you are!
Summarized below are recent updates for the Albany Avenue projects and the NY Forward grant process. Detailed below is also a list of upcoming meetings through December 2023. We want and need your feedback, so please attend meetings, send us your thoughts via email, or give a Trustee a call. Your input is important and DOES impact how we are moving forward.
Albany Avenue Projects
At the last public meeting on August 23rd, the village board voted unanimously to submit the first draft of a preliminary design to NYS Department of Transportation for their initial review. The draft that was sent was for “Option A” which was keeping Albany Avenue conceptually the same as it is today with respect to parking and sidewalks on both sides of the street and no dedicated bike lanes. This was what the overwhelming majority of residents who attended public meetings wanted. There were some elements of the first preliminary design that were strongly opposed by some residents. Updates regarding those elements are detailed below. Please note that it is common to have multiple iterations of preliminary designs based on resident and DOT feedback before submitting a final design.
Please keep in mind that we received a $1.8M federal grant for these improvements. We are in the running for another $400K through NY Forward to put towards this project, which has an overall estimated cost of $3.5M. The $2.2M we may receive represents nearly 6 years of taxes and a savings of about $3,500 per resident. The primary purpose of this project is to replace the 100+ year old water main under Albany Avenue. This project directly impacts the water quality and reliability for the entire village. All residents will benefit from this project. And next will be William Street!
To address some resident concerns:
Center Median. At the public meeting on June 28th, we directed the engineers to move forward with drafting a preliminary design focused on Option A. In addition, due to resident concerns around speeding, we asked the engineers to also include some speed reduction measures in the preliminary design that they thought would be effective. They included two center medians: one at the trail crossing at Sunset and Albany, and one in between Sunset and Route 9. Residents felt that the center median located in between Sunset and Route 9 was not suitable for a variety of reasons. At the public meeting on August 23rd, all Trustees present agreed that the center median should be removed. The engineers agreed to remove it. The center median will NOT be included in the next iteration of the preliminary design and will not be included in the final design. We are still working through what the best design for the trail crossing should be as the speed hump that is currently there is not very effective in slowing vehicles down. However, we all agree that a raised median at the trail crossing will NOT be installed.
Shared Lanes. On Albany Avenue right now, and throughout the village, we have shared automobile and bike lanes. Meaning, bicyclists and vehicles use the same lane. We do not have any dedicated bike lanes on village, county, or state roads within the village. Option A does NOT have a dedicated bike lane. The preliminary design shows a shared lane for vehicles and bicyclists, just like we have today. There are federal and state standards in constructing a road with a shared lane for pedestrians and bicyclists. We are working with our engineers to discuss various options that meet standards and utilizes the full width of public property. At the conclusion of the project, Albany Avenue will have brand new ADA compliant sidewalks, curbs, better defined and consistent parking that is constructed to NYS DOT code, and a brand-new road with a drainage system that works. These improvements will make it safer for residents, motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
Parking. We currently have 70-80 parking spaces on Albany with an average use at any one time of 20-30 vehicles. We will lose parking at both the intersection of Albany Avenue and Route 9, and at the intersection at Sunset Avenue to meet NYS DOT regulations that prohibit parking 30 feet from intersections. We are also working through parking considerations about halfway down Albany where the road narrows making it difficult to include parking on both sides of the street that meets NYS DOT code, lane width, and ADA sidewalks. We are looking at various options to keep as many parking spaces as possible and working with homeowners who want to keep parking in front of their homes. There are some homeowners on Albany who do not want parking in front of their homes and prefer less street parking. Please bear with us as we attempt to accommodate reasonable individual requests that do not halt or disrupt the overall project.
Upcoming Meetings and Information. Please see below for the full list of upcoming meetings. We are holding five additional workshop meetings to deep dive into trees and landscaping; speed reduction and bicycle safety; historic preservation; signs and street marking; and the water main. Also, below are links where you can find all minutes, documents, communications, and historical info about Albany Avenue projects.
Trustee Mark Browne is the Albany Project Lead and Trustee Quinn Murphy is the Deputy Project Lead. They both are available to answer any questions or concerns that you may have.
Minutes and meeting presentations:
https://villageofkinderhook.org/albanybike.html
Update communications to residents (these seven posts also went out to all residents via email):
https://mayorsblog.villageofkinderhook.org/
NY Forward
At the next public meeting on Wednesday, November 1st, the Local Planning Committee will be finalizing their recommendations of projects that will be sent to NYS Department of State for their final approval of projects that will share the $2.25M grant. Over the past months, the Local Planning Committee has met four times (all public meetings) and the NYS Department of State representatives hosted two public workshop meetings to hear feedback, suggestions, and comments from the public directly.
At the previous meeting on September 27th, the LPC publicly discussed all the projects. The LPC eliminated several projects that they felt did not have a transformational impact on the community. The LPC also discussed the possibility of starting a project fund of $300K that would be administered by the Columbia County Economic Development Council. These private projects would be able to apply for grant funding through the CCEDC and simultaneously leverage a low interest loan to compete their projects. Final decision on whether the LPC moves forward with the fund and the details around each grant and loan will be finalized at the November 1st meeting.
All information, meeting minutes, and project information can be found at: https://www.kinderhooknyf.com
Upcoming Meetings and Important Events
Albany Avenue Workshop meeting to discuss trees and landscaping
October 24th, 6 pm, Palmer Engine & Hose Company Building
Albany Avenue Steering Committee meeting
October 25th, 6 pm, Virtual Meeting (Steering Committee Members only, minutes available to public)
Village Board of Trustee Workshop Meeting to discuss Village Square and Rothermel Park NY Forward Projects
October 25th, 7 pm, Village Hall
Albany Avenue Workshop meeting to discuss speed reduction and bicycle safety
October 26th, 6 pm, Palmer Engine & Hose Company Building
NY Forward Local Planning Committee Meeting #5
Nov 1st, 6 pm, Van Buren Hall
Regular Monthly Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees
Nov 8th, 7 pm, Village Hall
Albany Avenue Public meeting to discuss DOT feedback on the preliminary design
Nov 15th, 6 pm, Palmer Engine & Hose Company Building
Albany Avenue Workshop meeting to discuss historic preservation
Nov 28th, 6 pm, Palmer Engine & Hose Company Building
Albany Avenue Workshop meeting to discuss signs and street marking.
Nov 30th, 6 pm, Palmer Engine & Hose Company Building
Albany Avenue Workshop meeting to discuss the watermain designs
Dec 7th, 6 pm, Palmer Engine & Hose Company Building
Regular Monthly Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees
Dec 13th, 7 pm, Village Hall
Discuss Albany Avenue final design submission to NYS DOT
Dec 20th, 6 pm, Palmer Engine & Hose Company Building
