The Hurley Planning Board unanimously denied an application for a Dunkin’ drive-thru at the intersection of Routes 28 and 375, citing numerous traffic safety issues, on Monday, January 10. The Dunkin’ was proposed for the Northwest corner on a lot owned by Virginia Barthel that formerly housed her Booked by Barthel agency and an Allstate insurance office.
Town Planner Johnathan Lockman noted the town’s traffic consultant Osman Barrie of Nelson-Pope took issue with allowing northbound traffic on Route 375 to use the shoulder to get around cars waiting to make a left turn into Dunkin’. He also noted delivery trucks and fire equipment can only maneuver through the site when it is closed and no other vehicles are on the property.
Lockman also cited Barrie’s conclusion that the applicant’s use of a Dunkin’ with indoor seating to support its estimated queue length is “grossly inaccurate” and not appropriate for the site.
“I don’t see how those concerns can be fixed. At this point, I’m proposing a resolution to not approve this project…,” said Planning Board member Raymond Palmer.
Planning Board member Tony Bonavist seconded the motion. Planning Board member Karl Brueckner was absent, but all others voted against granting the permit.
Charles Gottlieb, attorney for applicant John Joseph, then contended that passing cars on the shoulder is a legal maneuver and was approved by the state Department of Transportation when it reviewed the site plan.
“The Planning Board wasn’t alone in this issue,” Lockman responded. “Neither was the Planning Board alone in the issue of site congestion and not allowing truck maneuverability unless the site were cleared of cars first,” he said. “Those were two points that were made in the Ulster County (Planning Board) review letter. The Ulster County Planning Board actually came out, in its letter, recommending denial of the application if the shoulder were used as a bypass method for allowing cars to pass traffic that was stopped to try to make turns into the site.”
The rest of the Planning Board, when polled supported the motion to deny.
“I just want to say in the world of medicine, they have a rule. First do no harm. I think that extends to all the things we do in life. We should first do no harm and I don’t see how this cannot do so,” Planning Board member Peter McKnight said. “I know that DOT has their opinion on this but the DOT makes mistakes. They sometimes will say a traffic light isn’t needed in a certain place and then there’s fatal accidents and then they change. But you can’t change this once it’s built.”
Planning Board Chair Mitch Cohen also said he objected based on the analysis and the traffic he observed over the weekend from the proposed site. “If you wanted to get out on 375 or get in from 375, you could not,” he said. “In addition, there’s a bus stop that’s just past where this location is going to be. And it’s incredible how violent people get with the buses stopped on 28 with people trying to get around them. So, my vote is ‘no’ based on the traffic and the unknown things that will happen once this is built.”
Planning Board member Wayne Rice said he agrees with the traffic concerns. “I’ve been at the one out in Kingston. The traffic backed up out there, which isn’t a speedway like 28 is. That’s why I’m voting ‘no.’”
But Joseph said the DOT has turned down mitigation suggested by the Planning Board. “We worked extensively with the DOT for six months before we arrived,” Joseph said. “Everything we’ve proposed for mitigation, that you’ve asked us to mitigate, they’ve said no. The DOT, whether we like it or not, controls that route, and although I would love to give you all the mitigation you have asked for, the DOT has simply denied it.”
But Bonavist said the Planning Board is ultimately responsible.
“The DOT has its own responsibilities. The Planning Board also has its responsibilities, and we are the final say for this town,” he said. “If we approve a project that in the long run is going to turn into a problematic issue with traffic problems, it’s going to be on our head. So the DOT can say what it wants, but it still comes to rest right back down in here in Hurley.”
Joseph said if the town doesn’t like a project, it is going to deny it because of perceived traffic problems, even if the DOT approves it.
Bonavist countered that the Planning Board decision is backed up by professionals. “It’s not just Tony Bonavist and the Planning Board saying that there’s problems here. We’ve got three letters from Nelson-Pope saying there’s problems and we got one letter from the Ulster County Planning Board saying there’s issues here,” he said. “So it’s not just us layman sitting here in the twilight zone making determinations without any data to back it up,” Bonavist added.
“It’s not an easy decision that people make. We volunteered to do this not because we don’t want things to happen, but we have to look out for the town and life is worth more than a project,” Cohen concluded.
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