Route 9W takes a sharp turn in front of the former Knights of Columbus building — now Ryan House — and motorists speed down Burt Street into Mill Street where she lives, Erica Minglis said at a Saugerties Village Board meeting on Monday, July 17. At the intersection of 9W and Burt, 9W makes a full left turn, while Burt Street is a straight line into Mill Street, a quiet residential street that ends across from the Mill, senior citizen housing on Bridge Street.
Her neighbor, Marcella Santini, lives on Mill Street, near a large boulder that the village had placed there, Minglis said. She believed that it was placed at the request of a previous owner of the house to prevent cars from running into his property. Several vehicles have hit the boulder, she added.
“My suggestion is to lower the speed limit from the top of the hill [Route 9W and Burt Street], which wouldn’t hurt.” In response to a question from mayor Bill Murphy, she said that the limit is 30 miles per hour. Murphy said that the limit could be reduced to 25 miles per hour: the lowest New York State allows villages to reduce speeds.
The village also has several signs that indicate the speed of an approaching car, so drivers can see when they are speeding, and it may be possible to deploy one of those signs at the intersection. Other possibilities include possibly parking a police car within view of Mill Street: a sight that generally causes drivers to slow down.
Trustee Terry Parisian said that the Village Board has voted earlier to set a speed limit of 25 miles per hour throughout the village. Murphy agreed, but said that the cost of changing signage meant that the entire village was not changed at the same time. However, the signs will be changed at Mill Street, he said.
As for the boulder, Murphy asked whether Santini wants it removed. She said no, but noted that it had been hit three times in the last four months. “Actually, I would prefer a bigger boulder,” she said.
Murphy suggested possibly painting a yellow line to mark lanes on the narrow road and putting in a speed bump for the summer. The speed bump would have to be removed in the winter because it would interfere with plowing, but it could reduce the speeds during the spring and summer.
The speed reduction would be immediate, with a speed indicator sign placed there temporarily. Other measures would follow after further study.
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