SPACEtitle

SPACE

Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment
PO Box 100 Stony Point, NY 10980 845-429-2020
www.stonypointer.org info@stonypointer.org

Mr. Robert A. Dennison III, PE
Regional Director
NYS Department of Transportation, Region 8
4 Burnett Boulevard
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
ATTN: Mr. David Bennett, Jr. P.E.; Project Engineer
February 7, 2007

SUBJECT: James Farley Bridge; Stony Point, NY
RE: PIN 8239.13

Dear Mr. Dennison,

The Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment, Inc. (SPACE) was established in 1990 and has been an active, citizen's advocacy organization, promoting intelligent, well-considered land use planning in the Town of Stony Point during the past 17 years. Our organization has a number of concerns about your department’s proposed project to replace the James Farley Bridge in Stony Point and we want to bring our concerns to your attention as "Lead Agency" for the required SEQRA review. Some of these concerns have already been expressed, both verbally and in writing, during the public informational hearing held in Stony Point on 1/16/2007. With over 120 residents in attendance, that informational meeting demonstrated a significant amount of public interest and concern about the project as currently proposed. Since that meeting, we have received additional input from our members and from the community, which we include in this letter. We trust that the NYSDOT will give careful consideration to these important concerns and make every effort to incorporate them into your revised project plans.

The building know as the "Malloy's Building" is located on the northeast corner of the East Main St and Rt 9W intersection at the north end of the bridge. The building is slated to be destroyed under one of your currently proposed plans (3A). While the building does not appear to meet historical designation requirements by the state, it was constructed in 1861, served for a time as our town hall; was recognized in 1999 with a Rockland County Preservation Award and is currently home to four (4) thriving businesses and four (4) affordable apartments. The overwhelming sentiment expressed at the public informational meeting on 1/16/07 was that this building be preserved, either through project change, or by moving the building to a location further back on the lot. Specific comments from the public indicated that the relocation option might be less costly if the state were to move the building, rather than acquire it "in fee" and then demolish it.
The Stony Point Town Comprehensive Plan identifies the Malloy Building as an historic resource, town center and "place of distinction" in the town. Section 272-A of the Town Law of the State of New York states that:
"..All plans for capital projects of another governmental agency on land included in the town's Comprehensive Plan, adopted pursuant to this section, shall take such plan into consideration."
During the 1/16/2007 presentation to the residents of Stony Point, your engineers claimed that there were "20,000" vehicles per day crossing the bridge. Based on our vehicle counts, during a period that could be considered a "rush hour", our counts totaled 1173 vehicles. Dividing that number into the 20,000 figure your department claims, indicates that there would be the equivalent of some 17 hours of "rush hour" traffic per day. Based on our estimates and knowledge of the traffic in town, we question the accuracy of the 20,000 vehicles per day figure you presented.
WE REQEST: Under Freedom of Information Law, a copy of your report indicating how the 20,000 vehicles per day traffic flow were calculated.
Your engineers further stated that the number of traffic accidents at the Main Street/Rt. 9W intersection (north end of the bridge) is TWICE the state average. We have FOILED copies of the accident reports from that intersection for the past five years (2002 - 2006) from the Stony Point Police Department.Â There were a total of 49 accidents in the last 5 years; an exceeding majority of these accidents were directly due to driver error ("I was yelling at my kids and didn't see the stopped car; failure to yield right of way when turning; my foot slipped off the brake) and NOT caused by intersection design or size. In fact, we counted less than five (5) accidents during that time that could have had any connection to the intersection size or design. If, for example, you apply your departmentâ??s count of 20,000 vehicles per day, this is appears to be an extremely small percentage of accidents. We question whether the extensive widening and redesign of this intersection, requiring the demolition of the Malloy's Building and other buildings is actually warranted, based on accident rate. A less destructive and less expansive plan would likely work as well.
WE REQUEST: Under Freedom of Information Law, an explanation and clarification of how you determined and computed the frequency of accidents at this intersection. Please explain what data you used to indicate that this 9W and Main Street intersection has accidents at "TWICE" the New York State average.
In the interest of preserving our historic town center from destruction, we ask that this bridge reconstruction plan be modified and that the following suggestions be considered:

Eliminating the third lane and the two 8' shoulders on the bridge would significantly reduce the size of the bridge (more than 16 feet) and could positively affect this project without any significant impact on service or safety; thus keeping the bridge closer to its current footprint. It is likely that the expanded bridge and intersection design, as proposed, will only serve to increase the rate of speed across the bridge and through the intersection, likely resulting in more, not less, traffic accidents.
Consider eliminating the sidewalk on one side of the bridge to reduce the overall footprint of the replacement bridge.
We request that the NYS Office of Parks & Recreation & Historical Preservation reexamine this application and consider any and all options or design exceptions that could reduce the impact and need for demolition and allow the preservation of the Malloy's Building, a building that has significant historical importance to the community
We have asked NYS Senator Thomas Morahan, Assemblywoman, Nancy Calhoun, Supervisor Phil Marino and the Stony Point Town Board to assist us in facilitating and resolving these issues.

Both plans currently proposed (3A & 3B) require the taking of land to the east or to the west of the current bridge and constructing a temporary bridge. Both of these plans result in the destruction of a number of buildings in our town center. We question whether this is necessary and if the use of "Rapid Bridge Construction" as an alternative could both expedite the construction schedule and build the replacement bridge closer to the existing bridge footprint.

At the informational meeting on 1/16/2007, your engineers claimed they looked at the traffic re-routing idea, but could not find suitable routes. While they were obviously unfamiliar with our town, they described routes that we would admittedly be impractical. However, their presentation did not mention other routes that could work. Several years ago there was work done on the Farley Bridge requiring it to be closed for a few months. Traffic was successfully re-routed on local streets during this period.

We have outlined a number of our concerns in this letter and ask that you give them serious consideration as part of your role as lead agency for the SEQRA review. The intersection described above is an integral, historical part of our community and we do not want to see it destroyed or unnecessarily expanded to cause more traffic.

We request that your department please include our organization on any mailing list for updates and notify us of future public informational meetings and public hearings being scheduled.

Thank you for your kind consideration in this matter.

George Potanovic, Jr.
President

Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment (SPACE)

PO Box 100; Stony Point, NY 10980 • info@stonypointer.org • 845-429-2020

cc:

Phil Marino, Supervisor, Town of Stony Point

Fran Mullin, Town Clerk for Stony Point Town Board

Carol Ash, Acting Commissioner, New York State Office of Parks,

Recreation & Historic Preservation

Thomas Morahan, NYS Senator

Nancy Calhoun, NYS Assembly

Sal Corallo, Rockland County Planning Commissioner

Thomas F. X. Casey, Rockland County Historian

Robert Geneslaw, Town Planner

SPACE Board of Directors




SPACE Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment PO Box 100 Stony Point, NY 10980 845-429-2020 www.stonypointer.org info@stonypointer.org Mr. Robert A. Dennison III, PE Regional Director NYS Department of Transportation, Region 8 4 Burnett Boulevard Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 ATTN: Mr. David Bennett, Jr. P.E.; Project Engineer February 7, 2007 SUBJECT: James Farley Bridge; Stony Point, NY RE: PIN 8239.13 Dear Mr. Dennison, The Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment, Inc. (SPACE) was established in 1990 and has been an active, citizen's advocacy organization, promoting intelligent, well-considered land use planning in the Town of Stony Point during the past 17 years. Our organization has a number of concerns about your department’s proposed project to replace the James Farley Bridge in Stony Point and we want to bring our concerns to your attention as "Lead Agency" for the required SEQRA review. Some of these concerns have already been expressed, both verbally and in writing, during the public informational hearing held in Stony Point on 1/16/2007. With over 120 residents in attendance, that informational meeting demonstrated a significant amount of public interest and concern about the project as currently proposed. Since that meeting, we have received additional input from our members and from the community, which we include in this letter. We trust that the NYSDOT will give careful consideration to these important concerns and make every effort to incorporate them into your revised project plans. The building know as the "Malloy's Building" is located on the northeast corner of the East Main St and Rt 9W intersection at the north end of the bridge. The building is slated to be destroyed under one of your currently proposed plans (3A). While the building does not appear to meet historical designation requirements by the state, it was constructed in 1861, served for a time as our town hall; was recognized in 1999 with a Rockland County Preservation Award and is currently home to four (4) thriving businesses and four (4) affordable apartments. The overwhelming sentiment expressed at the public informational meeting on 1/16/07 was that this building be preserved, either through project change, or by moving the building to a location further back on the lot. Specific comments from the public indicated that the relocation option might be less costly if the state were to move the building, rather than acquire it "in fee" and then demolish it. The Stony Point Town Comprehensive Plan identifies the Malloy Building as an historic resource, town center and "place of distinction" in the town. Section 272-A of the Town Law of the State of New York states that: "..All plans for capital projects of another governmental agency on land included in the town's Comprehensive Plan, adopted pursuant to this section, shall take such plan into consideration." During the 1/16/2007 presentation to the residents of Stony Point, your engineers claimed that there were "20,000" vehicles per day crossing the bridge. Based on our vehicle counts, during a period that could be considered a "rush hour", our counts totaled 1173 vehicles. Dividing that number into the 20,000 figure your department claims, indicates that there would be the equivalent of some 17 hours of "rush hour" traffic per day. Based on our estimates and knowledge of the traffic in town, we question the accuracy of the 20,000 vehicles per day figure you presented. WE REQEST: Under Freedom of Information Law, a copy of your report indicating how the 20,000 vehicles per day traffic flow were calculated. Your engineers further stated that the number of traffic accidents at the Main Street/Rt. 9W intersection (north end of the bridge) is TWICE the state average. We have FOILED copies of the accident reports from that intersection for the past five years (2002 - 2006) from the Stony Point Police Department.Â There were a total of 49 accidents in the last 5 years; an exceeding majority of these accidents were directly due to driver error ("I was yelling at my kids and didn't see the stopped car; failure to yield right of way when turning; my foot slipped off the brake) and NOT caused by intersection design or size. In fact, we counted less than five (5) accidents during that time that could have had any connection to the intersection size or design. If, for example, you apply your departmentâ??s count of 20,000 vehicles per day, this is appears to be an extremely small percentage of accidents. We question whether the extensive widening and redesign of this intersection, requiring the demolition of the Malloy's Building and other buildings is actually warranted, based on accident rate. A less destructive and less expansive plan would likely work as well. WE REQUEST: Under Freedom of Information Law, an explanation and clarification of how you determined and computed the frequency of accidents at this intersection. Please explain what data you used to indicate that this 9W and Main Street intersection has accidents at "TWICE" the New York State average. In the interest of preserving our historic town center from destruction, we ask that this bridge reconstruction plan be modified and that the following suggestions be considered: Eliminating the third lane and the two 8' shoulders on the bridge would significantly reduce the size of the bridge (more than 16 feet) and could positively affect this project without any significant impact on service or safety; thus keeping the bridge closer to its current footprint. It is likely that the expanded bridge and intersection design, as proposed, will only serve to increase the rate of speed across the bridge and through the intersection, likely resulting in more, not less, traffic accidents. Consider eliminating the sidewalk on one side of the bridge to reduce the overall footprint of the replacement bridge. We request that the NYS Office of Parks & Recreation & Historical Preservation reexamine this application and consider any and all options or design exceptions that could reduce the impact and need for demolition and allow the preservation of the Malloy's Building, a building that has significant historical importance to the community We have asked NYS Senator Thomas Morahan, Assemblywoman, Nancy Calhoun, Supervisor Phil Marino and the Stony Point Town Board to assist us in facilitating and resolving these issues. Both plans currently proposed (3A & 3B) require the taking of land to the east or to the west of the current bridge and constructing a temporary bridge. Both of these plans result in the destruction of a number of buildings in our town center. We question whether this is necessary and if the use of "Rapid Bridge Construction" as an alternative could both expedite the construction schedule and build the replacement bridge closer to the existing bridge footprint. At the informational meeting on 1/16/2007, your engineers claimed they looked at the traffic re-routing idea, but could not find suitable routes. While they were obviously unfamiliar with our town, they described routes that we would admittedly be impractical. However, their presentation did not mention other routes that could work. Several years ago there was work done on the Farley Bridge requiring it to be closed for a few months. Traffic was successfully re-routed on local streets during this period. We have outlined a number of our concerns in this letter and ask that you give them serious consideration as part of your role as lead agency for the SEQRA review. The intersection described above is an integral, historical part of our community and we do not want to see it destroyed or unnecessarily expanded to cause more traffic. We request that your department please include our organization on any mailing list for updates and notify us of future public informational meetings and public hearings being scheduled. Thank you for your kind consideration in this matter. George Potanovic, Jr. President Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment (SPACE) PO Box 100; Stony Point, NY 10980 • info@stonypointer.org • 845-429-2020 cc: Phil Marino, Supervisor, Town of Stony Point Fran Mullin, Town Clerk for Stony Point Town Board Carol Ash, Acting Commissioner, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation Thomas Morahan, NYS Senator Nancy Calhoun, NYS Assembly Sal Corallo, Rockland County Planning Commissioner Thomas F. X. Casey, Rockland County Historian Robert Geneslaw, Town Planner SPACE Board of Directors
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