Some neighbors of the new Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall project located within the Town of Ulster are concerned about what the house of worship will do to the neighborhood. Their opposition is related to an abundance of traffic through a largely residential area.
At a meeting of the Ulster Town Board held on Thursday, March 7, neighbors of the roughly 5,000-square-foot single story place of worship project located at 298 Memorial Drive expressed safety issues in the neighborhood. Some of the issues were raised by residents of Quail Drive, which runs between Memorial Drive and Van Kleeck Lane and includes numerous houses and the 82-unit Ulster Gardens Apartments. What it doesn’t include, neighbors have said, are enough sidewalks, making for an increasingly perilous outdoor experience for local residents, particularly seniors and families with small children.
Eileen Murphy lives on Quail Drive, and she attended the town board meeting to share a petition signed by 93 people from the neighborhood, which includes other side streets near the Kingdom Hall proposal, brought before the town board last year by JW Congregation Support, Inc., a Wallkill-based group that assists congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in developing and building new houses of worship.
“Each of the petition signers lives along the eight streets of this neighborhood,” said Murphy. “They walk or run or bike or exercise, stroll with children or grandchildren and walk their dogs.”
Murphy said the request for a traffic safety intervention in the neighborhood isn’t new. In fact, it goes back nearly 15 years with residential developments through the possible expansion of Ulster Gardens in 2023.
“This (latter) conceptual plan was withdrawn due to a potentially large volume of opposition related to traffic safety concerns,” Murphy said. “The current situation is very serious, but it may become even more dangerous due to the recent approval of the development of a church on Memorial Drive, 50 feet from the border of Ulster Gardens, with quick access from Quail Drive.”
Murphy noted that in their Kingdom Hall application, the developers stated that there could be as many as 100 cars on the property two or three times each week. With access to Memorial Drive available directly from Route 9W, Murphy said neighbors would like to see town officials stop all non-residential vehicular traffic south of Ulster Gardens, suggesting the installation of an electronically-controlled gate at the south end of Quail Drive.
“The most effective positioning of the gate would be at the top of the hill at the two very large, but ineffective do not enter signs,” Murphy said. “We are not seeking to create an exclusive gated community: We are seeking to restore our collective safety.”
Fellow Quail Drive resident Barbara Van Kleeck also spoke, as well as relaying a note from her next door neighbor, Dolores Gill.
“‘I am 82 years old and I am afraid to walk my dog on the road in front of my house.,’” read Gill’s letter. “‘Even picking up my mail at the community mailbox or short walk away can be scary because of the cars stepping on the gas to zoom up the hill toward Ulster Gardens. Traffic even comes down that hill even though the Quail Drive extension is one way and it is illegal.”
Van Kleeck spoke about ongoing traffic issues as well.
“Anticipated traffic problems were brought to the Town of Ulster’s attention at open planning board meetings during the extension planning stages to no avail,” she said. “Here we are 14 years later facing the same problems which I believe will become substantially exacerbated upon the completion and opening of the Jehovah Witnesses church being built at the base of Quail Drive extension next to the UPS facility on Memorial Drive.”
Van Kleeck echoed Gill’s assertion that even without the likely traffic from a completed Kingdom Hall, the one-way Quail Drive extension is dangerous.
“Children play and people frequently walk and ride bikes both up and down completely unaware that a vehicle may be coming the wrong way down the hill, and all activity takes place in the road since there are no sidewalks on the extension,” Van Kleeck said. “I’ve personally stopped many cars coming down the hill ignoring the do-not-enter signs at the top of the hill.
I’m not just talking about passenger cars or commercial vehicles such as FedEx, UPS and Amazon Prime.”
Van Kleeck’s success rate with connecting with those driving the wrong way down the street has varied.
“When I tell them I intend to call their companies to report them, they sometimes will dismiss me, or say, ‘Have a nice day, lady,’” she said. “Sometimes when I stop ordinary people and tell them their driving is not only illegal but dangerous, I get either an annoyed response or a middle finger wave.”
Van Kleeck added that the 30-mile-per-hour signs installed by the town have had little effect, and drivers frequently speed through the neighborhood.
She added that she’s also addressed safety concerns with the Kingston City School District about a potentially dangerous school bus stop at the corner of Quail Drive and Van Kleeck Lane and the results were more successful.
“While waiting for the bus, parents would park their cars on both sides of the road and let their children play in between the cars, virtually shutting down Quail Drive,” Van Kleeck said. “Thankfully, the school district heard our concern and moved the bus stop.”
Ultimately, she added, the residents don’t want the nature of their neighborhood to change anymore.
“Our neighborhood has no sidewalks and we are not asking for sidewalks as an afterthought,” Van Kleeck said. “We have many octogenarians, little children in strollers or on bikes, and people of all ages in between who enjoy all the winding distinctive blocks…We enjoy the sense of community we share with residents of Ulster Gardens who also walk through the neighborhood and we want all of that to continue. Please heed the recommendations of the Town of Ulster citizens and protect the safety and well being of our community.”
Town officials were unavailable for comment.
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