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Editorials
The next person to address the Transit Road Access Management panel was Jane Wiercioch, president of the Depew/Cheektowaga Taxpayers Association. “I feel this is a beginning,” she declared, “a little late in coming, but a beginning.”
Wiercioch agreed with Dan Ulatowski, Cheektowaga zoning inspector and planner, on the importance of having the Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Committee involved in the access management program as an independent and impartial third party.
She gave an example of the conflicts that exist on Transit Road by giving her own personal experience. “I don’t shop at some businesses at all because of the traffic conflicts present.”
Finding it impossible to make a left turn out the Transit Road Value store recently, she related on having to make a right turn onto Transit Road, proceeding to the Flix Theater driveway and making a right hand turn and taking the road to William Street.
She then had to make a left onto William Street, which is no small feat, proceeded to the Transit Road signalized intersection and made a left turn to head south on Transit Road – which is what she wanted to do from the Value store but was unable to accomplish. “That is totally ridiculous,” voiced Wiercioch.
Wiercioch also told the panel that the center turning lane is useless. “We have people standing in these lanes, heading in opposite directions, because there is no opportunity to make left turns because of the steady traffic flow.”
She wondered what happened to the traffic signal that was promised at Kohl’s that would create a break in traffic that would allow vehicles to safely exit businesses along Transit Road – those making right turns as well as left turns out of driveways.
Wiercioch closed by declaring she had great faith in Ulatowski and his proposed ordinance and supports the Access Management conception, but cautioned that the waiver language needed refinement.
Lancaster Planning Board Chair Stanley J. Keysa
Keysa spoke to emphasize that the ordinance was a tool that was needed. “For years we have fought to have traffic management by voluntary agreement between parties. Our basic function (Planning Board) is to make sure that when the project comes before us it complies with the ordinances of the town.”
“A secondary function is to see that other regulations, federal and state regulations, are met when the project moves to the SEQRA process; as complete as possible so that a decision is made that is as accurate as possible.
Keysa went on to say that there is a need for traffic access on a road that is already significantly zoned. Attempting to get traffic management voluntarily between parties has failed on several occasions and something is needed in place to set standards that address those situations.
"Standards and language," said Keysa, "that insist new developments follow. This would be a good time to encourage existing developments that are reticent on sharing driveways understand that if they have any intent of doing something in the future, that now may be a good time to comply with the ordinance so that interconnectivity could be had so that traffic does not have to go out onto Transit Road (from multiple driveways).
Keysa made mention of the Tim Hortons at Transit Road and Michael Anthony Lane where the town had encouraged the sharing of the apartment complex driveway next door. The apartment complex owner refused to negotiate.
Keysa said that on one day he observed 40% of the cars coming out of the apartment complex onto Transit Road, making a 180-degree right turn into the Tim Hortons driveway. “Interconnectivity was appropriate here and should have taken place here,” declared Keysa.
“Give us the tools to have something to look at, to point to and require the developers to comply with.”
Final comments
A Transit Road access management ordinance is late in coming and mistakes have been made where traffic conflicts exist, public safety is being compromised and traffic flow is being slowed.
Too often this individual has heard developers coming into Lancaster openly stating they can get the necessary regulatory permits anytime they want to move their project forward. Too often the information they supply the federal, state and local agencies is inaccurate and/or incomplete.
Having a third independent party, GBNRTC, in controlling traffic and access management issues has to be considered a large positive. But until such time as the current “draft” is so written to have teeth, one can only wonder whether such needed law can be enforced.
Less than a week after total agreement was had by Town of Lancaster and Cheektowaga officials and State and local agencies that such ordinance is needed, the Town of Lancaster will considering approving the Transit Road Aldi’s site plan – a plan that perverts the intent of the proposed ordinance in several ways.
Lastly, the Towns should be looking to stop the construction of speculative buildings that lay as vacant as those that have been abandoned by businesses for greener pastures. We continue to lose greenspace because of developer whim.
© Copyright 2008 by Speakupwny.com
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