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Transit officials want input on Route 50
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
State and local officials announced on Tuesday that they will be undertaking a $70,000 study to examine how the Route 50 corridor adjacent to the Saratoga Spa State Park can be improved.
The study, paid for by the Capital District Transportation Committee, will look at the roadway between East West Road, at the southern end of the state park, and the New Street intersection, where Espey Manufacturing is located, officials said (map).
One of the primary goals of the study is to find a way that pedestrians and bicyclists can enter the state park from Saratoga Springs without having to travel on Route 50.
Saratoga County’s Zim Smith Trail could eventually provide access to the park from the south end, but exactly how that path could be continued north into Saratoga Springs remains undetermined. Finding a way to link the park to the existing Railroad Run trail — which begins on Circular Street and ends on New Street near the entrance to the Saratoga YMCA — would be ideal, officials say.
Transportation officials will also look at how pedestrians and bicyclists can be ushered across Geyser Road into the state park as part of the study. A new trail along Geyser Road remains under development, and there is a hope that either an overpass or demarked walkway can be used to connect its eastern terminus with the state park.
Officials have long discussed such improvements because pedestrians and bicyclists entering and leaving the state park from the roadway often commingle with vehicles traveling at high speeds and trucks visiting the Grande Industrial Park on Geyser Road.
The study will also explore ways to beautify the corridor so that it more closely resembles the South Broadway entrance to the city, officials said. Similar efforts are being considered on the Route 50 entrance to Saratoga Springs from Wilton.
To help craft their plan, state and local officials have scheduled a “public workshop” for 6 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Gideon Putnam Hotel, located in the state park.
Officials involved with the study said they hope the study will allow them to eventually produce a formal proposal that they could then bring to the state Department of Transportation for funding in the future.
Photo: The South Broadway entrance to Saratoga Springs. Transportation officials say they hope the Route 50 entrance to the city from Milton can be redesigned using some of the same elements to become more inviting.
– Drew Kerr
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2 comments:
You wouldn't be complaining if money was spent on improving the pool, but, obviously, any OTHER money spent on improving the park is a waste, even if OTHER taxpayers may have an interest in the resutls. Despite the hard-won, entirely solicited media coverage, you're still unbelievably transparent, Louise.
How is this in anyway bad? Its impossible to walk on 50 to get to the park. Many of us live on the WestSide and since there is no public transportation to the Park, except the northern end with shuttle bus' for a short time in the summer a walk on 50 would be easier than going over to 9. This study is well overdue
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