Descrizione
The Southbound lanes on Washington avenue from Ulster Savings to Schwenk Drive need to be defined better and for a longer distance.
People are confused and crossing the lines constantly. This is dangerous and causes traffic delays. The left lane should start further back by the Dutch Village driveway. It just appears out of nowhere.
The center lane should stay constant and start further back.
The right lane should start later since you can always make the right on red.
It is very dangerous now as cars are often crossing over the double yellow lines into oncoming traffic. People who are not familiar with the road are confused and find themselves in the wrong lane all the time.
It is a mess during the morning commute and dangerous. Please look into this issue and work with the State to fix it.
72 Commentos
nobody (Ospite)
Bruce Tuchman (Ospite)
Anonymous (Ospite)
One time I even saw someone driving towards me going the WRONG WAY on Schwenk Drive because of the lack of proper lane markings!!!
He almost crashed into me!! It was late at night which didn't make it any better because all the trees block the overhead streetlights so you can't even see the road.
Andi Turco-Levin (Utente registrato)
Part of the new 'traffic plan' includes widening the road to accomodate more lanes of traffic.
Bruce Tuchman (Ospite)
lucy (Ospite)
John L. (Utente registrato)
As for the painting vs paving, I think it could be quite the money saver and supply a quick fix, if allowable/legal...
Anthony (Ospite)
I think with the traffic volumes we are currently seeing, it would make sense to re-align all the lanes in that area to improve traffic flow.
The problem seems to be that motorists in that area don't have a sense of "traffic continuity", meaning that when they approach that intersection, drivers say, "What lane should I be in? What lane should I be in?" and everyone weaves into different positions because the demarcation of the "thru-lanes" and "turning lanes" are not up to snuff.
In addition, I believe that more prominent "Left Turn Only" signs and better traffic light phases of the "Left Turn Green Arrows" would also dramatically help enhance driver awareness in this location.
The entire section of Washington Ave, from the Traffic Circle to Hurley Ave. should have a decorative, raised center-median installed, (thus prohibiting dangerous left-turns and head-on collisions). Then the traffic moving straight or right should have precidence at the light, with a dedicated left-turn lane for traffic proceding left onto Schwenk Dr.
Derek DeFilippo (Ospite)
Bruce Tuchman (Ospite)
Bruce Tuchman (Ospite)
m. schupp, dept. of public works (Ospite)
Bruce Tuchman (Ospite)
Derek D (Ospite)
i'm pretty sure the lanes are non-existant for about a 50' stretch. chaos! 1 lane heading west toward the thruway probably wouldn't be ideal, but would be an improvement over what is in place now....
the light itself needs to be reprogrammed or replaced as well. The timing is all wacky. there's a good 10 seconds between the left turn signals (for washington) and the regular green...
Anonymous (Ospite)
Bruce (Ospite)
TROUT (Utente registrato)
Bruce Tuchman (Ospite)
John L. (Ospite)
Andi Turco-Levin (Utente registrato)
The DPW can't paint new lines at will, it needs to be addressed with the Dept. of Transportation.
I agree that a patrol car should sit in the lot of Ulster Savings and pull over the cars who cross the lines.
John L. (Ospite)
Derek D (Ospite)
this problem is nothing new. there's a good 75 foot stretch with no lanes painted at all...
ticket people who run stop signs and traffic lights (happens all the time in Kingston) or don't use blinkers. don't punish people for poor road design!
kev50hum (Ospite)
Mike O. (Ospite)
bruce (Ospite)
anon (Ospite)
Bruce Tuchman (Ospite)
buford (Ospite)
Frank (Ospite)
Gerald Berke (Utente registrato)
this is 357K dollars and 5 years: this kind of government is old, entrenched, and out of touch with the lives of real people. This looks to them like a job well done, with nothing in the interim to ease the problem and no way at all to tell the thousands of people that use that gateway that there is a plan on the way (5 years out)...
I promise you that a competent, motivated city government would have that problem largely fixed in a manner of months. But there is a mindset and a comfort in the bureacracy of "this is how it's always been done" that is poisonous to the community.
This says there will be jobs, there will be money, but what happens in the mean time? "it's being fixed."
Those lights can be adjusted, the traffic markings can be refreshed, and things can get much much better very quickly.
See if anyone in government can speak intelligently on the problem, if anyone will walk the citizens through what the plan is, and what other plans have been considered, if any.
Anyone who has worked in a large organization knows how such organizations get old and arthritic. New, younger people are needed. More women.
Frank (Ospite)
peggy (Ospite)
Gerald Berke (Utente registrato)
It could be better, and it is getting better, mightily.
Who is leaving? When? Why?
We need the details.
John L. (Ospite)
Frank (Ospite)
Frank (Ospite)
John L. (Ospite)
Nancy (Ospite)
John L. (Ospite)
Gerald Berke (Utente registrato)
We did lose that fine antique store on the corner, lovely gentlemen great collections... we have Beahive Kingston added to Walls street, although not my favorite, a mini mart will be added on Broadway.
View the town as what's happening on the Kingstoncorridor (kingstoncorridor.com) and kingstonhappenings.org, and the new aldermen we have (we need more of that kind of leadership, so make sure your ward is sending a good alderman to the common council) and the neighborhood watch group that is making a great difference in this town...
Then there is the redone waterfront and the whole Pike Plan renewal starting this fall...
Stanley (Ospite)
Let's do a better job of welcoming what does come to Uptown Kingston, 'stead of grousing about what leaves it(glass half full dept?)
Bruce Tuchman (Ospite)
John L. (Ospite)
@gerald-
LOL, I love Vincenzos, I am literally eating their pizza as I type. I guess I am arguing from more of a jobs standpoint. I guess you are correct that things are happening. But from a jobs standpoint, nothing you mentioned is helping anyone really...
John L. (Ospite)
Gerald Berke (Utente registrato)
November 6, Dance for Peace
Dance for Peace, all day dance, at what used to be BSP on wall street... (see them on facebook)... it's an all day dance fest with instruction and music (including Shorty King's Club House Band which is fabulous)
That will be November 6, all day. It was up on Albany Ave last year at the Episcopal Church, very successful, but more dance space was needed...
Anonymous (Ospite)
Exactly! This problem isn't just happening in Kingston-- it's endemic to pretty much all of New York State. The "big box" and "big pharmacy" stores keep coming because they make money no matter where they are located. The problem is that all those multi-billion dollar corporations couldn't care less about the infrastructure around their locations.
In other words, a "Home Depot" or a "CVS" would make money if it were built in the middle of a gravel pit, but a "Nekos Pharmacy" or "Uptown Cigars" would barely squeak by if there was a light-rail station, a taxi stand, a community college, and an international airport nearby!
Small business is the foundation of our economy. And yes, I am guilty, I have gone to the "big box" stores now and again myself. But I would much rather shop at some of the smaller stores if the roads/sidewalks/parking etc... were in better shape and were better maintained and kept up better.
New York State's smaller towns are literally crumbling around us, and this intersection at Washington/Schwenk/Hurley Ave. is a prime example. I went to Coleman H.S. in the early 90's, and the intersection was a nightmare even then! That was 20 years ago! And it's still EXACTLY the same! Kingston has more thru-traffic than ever before, yet all the old fuddy-duddies in the government tell us it's going to take 5 YEARS to put up some new traffic lights and paint some new lines! What a JOKE!
In other more fiscally responsible areas of the country, this intersection would be upgraded pretty much every 10-15 years to make it safer/more efficient for all parties involved. But no, this is The @#$% State, where increasing taxes, wild, power-drunk spending sprees, and receiving absolutely NO return on our tax dollars is business as usual.
Get a clue, NYS!!!! Use our tax dollars WISELY and EFFICIENTLY, and FIX THIS INTERSECTION WITHIN 2 YEARS!!!!!
Gerald Berke (Utente registrato)
It's funny how insidious bad government can be, like having a low grade fever all the time, feeling punk, nothing seems to work well...
Change that. Drag your bodies to the common council meetings, to the neighborhood watch, kingstondigitalcorridor happier meetings, down to the waterfront, show up at UPAC, at Keegans, at Seven 21, at the Pajama Factory... and by all means, walk the Kingston Corridor... (kingstoncorridor.com) bike it, drive it, end to end: see what is happening, see what is changing, and when you do, please be sure to keep at least a small smile on your face to meet and greet. You will be rewarded with politeness and smiles right back at you.
and for sure: make sure you have an alderman that totally delights you, who communicates with you, keeps you informed.
Bad government will kill us all.
And then there are the schools: who gets to visit their schools? What regular news comes from an organization that taxes as big as the city itself? Who represents you?
Seriously? (Utente registrato)
This MAIN issue was quite derailed more than three months ago, and This sounds like a great suggestion for the DPW / DOT to consider and for an Alderman to push.
Has there been any municipal Discussion whether the design of the striping can be or has been re-evaluated? Please update ON TOPIC.
lets make an honest attempt to close this issue and stay on topic.
Anonymous (Ospite)
@ Seriously?
Here! Here! Seconded. Co-signed!
Community Neighbor (Ospite)
Dennis Doyle and Jennifer Schwarz-Berky are the people who head this work up at the County.
Chiusa Seriously? (Utente registrato)
Bruce (Ospite)
Robert H. (Ospite)
Reopened btuchman (Utente registrato)
Seriously? (Utente registrato)
The fix is in the works. its expensive, and will take 5 years.
Jennifer Schwartz-Berky and Dennis Doyle at the Ulster County Planning board are heading it up.
this is a bigger fix that is in the works than fixing lines, because more than the lines need to be fixed.
@ Bruce, no, you cant just move lines. If the DPW took a guess at where the lines went without a plan from a licensed professional that the municipality approved, They would have to take liability for flaws in the design which could cause accidents. In the real world, they dont want to do this. And wont.
If we want to keep this open for 5 years, thats cool. I dont really mind, just seems that the FIX is in the works, and all that is left is to be patient with the bureaucracy.
btuchman (Utente registrato)
btuchman (Utente registrato)
Frank K. (Ospite)
citizenofkingston (Ospite)
Maybe that's the way to take it to DPW:
1) when are you going to repaint those lanes
2) will you/can you extend them to correct a bit of a problem.
seeclickfixkingston@yahoogroups.com
Adam (Ospite)
Robert (Ospite)
Bruce (Ospite)
Charlie (Ospite)
Brendon T. (Ospite)
Please fix it, look at it, assess it, just do it.
Thanks
Ralph S. (Ospite)
Tom (Ospite)
annie (Ospite)
Bruce (Ospite)
Bruce (Ospite)
annie (Ospite)
Chiusa Dept of Public Works (Ospite)
bruce (Ospite)