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Thread: Roundabouts Approved

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    Member gorja's Avatar
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    Roundabouts Approved

    You've got to love that Lynn Ruda. She 'rocks'
    Roundabouts

    Board approves project proposal, design report
    Mayor votes against resolution
    September 17, 2020
    by MARIA PERICOZZI Editor



    The Lancaster Village Board voted to approve the project proposal and design report for the Lancaster Roundabouts Project Monday.


    Four trustees voted for the resolution, and Mayor William Schroeder voted against the resolution. Trustee Lynne Ruda questioned Schroeder’s decision to vote against the resolution.


    “You’ve been sitting in the work sessions, and you’ve said you have no issues or concerns. We’ve brought it up, many times including tonight, about questions or concerns, and you have yet to say anything,” Ruda said. “The project is paid for, the public has been supporting the project, you’ve been sitting in sessions and said nothing, not participated, not asked a question, not done anything.”


    Ruda added that Schroeder has been part of this project for years now and has had a hand in every piece of the project.


    Schroeder said he voted no because he’s the person who receives the hate mail and phone calls from residents he believes were being blown off.


    “I don’t think that their voices were heard and they were completely ignored,” Schroeder said.


    Ruda questioned why Schroeder had not brought up his concerns before during a work session.


    “How many times have we said, ‘Are there any questions, are there any concerns?’” Ruda said.


    Schroeder replied that he did not have any questions or concerns, and that he understood the project.


    “I’m sticking up for the people that are against it,” Schroeder said. “Nobody seemed to want to listen to them. Nobody wanted to hear them and they were blown off … Those people have a voice in this village and I work for those people, just as I work for the other ones. I didn’t think it was fair they were being ignored.”


    Ruda pointed out that in a recent survey launched by the Village of Lancaster, 63% of respondents expressed appreciation and noted the roundabouts project would improve overall functionality and safety and revitalize downtown.


    “They’re not being ignored,” Ruda said. “What about the larger majority that are for the project? Now you’re ignoring them.”


    Schroeder said he is not ignoring them and is taking their opinions into consideration.



    Around 28% of respondents to the village survey noted they do not like anything about the project, and roundabouts are not required in the survey. According to the survey, the biggest concern about construction for respondents was the impact to local businesses. Other concerns included traffic detours, dust, noise,
    snow removal, the residents in the Towers, pedestrian foot traffic and public transportation. A full draft survey summary is located on the village website, lancastervillage.org.


    Schroeder said he believes the survey was skewed toward a favorable response.


    “You were part of designing the survey,” Ruda said, and Schroeder replied he did not design the survey. “Yes, you did, because we sat down as a board and worked through those questions.”


    Schroeder said he has brought up concerns that the project has not been properly publicized from the beginning, which had to do with COVID-19. He said he was the one who insisted on sending mailings to residents, because at the time residents needed to rely on social media to receive information.
    “We have an aging community, a lot of those people don’t do social media,” Schroeder said.


    Ruda said she was extraordinarily disappointed in Schroeder.


    “Just like everybody else, I have my right to an opinion,” Schroeder said. “That’s the way I feel about it and that’s the way I voted.”
    The resolution was to accept and approve the initial project proposal and final design report for the Village of Lancaster Roundabouts Project and authorize Schroeder to sign the report, contingent upon review and approval by the New York State Department of Transportation.


    “As the leader of us, your signature’s going to be on this,” Ruda said.


    “I will do that, that’s part of my job,” Schroeder said.


    The board unanimously passed a resolution to approve the Short Environmental Assessment Form for the project, declaring that the Village of Lancaster has determined that the project will not result in any significant adverse environmental impacts.

    Georgia L Schlager

  2. #2
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gorja View Post
    Four trustees voted for the resolution, and Mayor William Schroeder voted against the resolution. Trustee Lynne Ruda questioned Schroeder’s decision to vote against the resolution.
    IMHO, BRAZENLY ASKED...

    Trustee Lynne Ruda questioned Schroeder’s decision to vote against the resolution.





    ...AND DUTIFULLY ANSWERED...

    “I’m sticking up for the people that are against it,” Schroeder said. “Nobody seemed to want to listen to them. Nobody wanted to hear them and they were blown off … Those people have a voice in this village and I work for those people, just as I work for the other ones. I didn’t think it was fair they were being ignored.”


    I note that the so-called survey was not unanimous in favor of the project. Bearing in mind that the governing authority is the VOL Board and not the VOL Politburo, it appears that the Mayor was giving a voice to those who did not, and do not, approve of the project.

    Mayor Schroeder's vote and explanation, appears to have been a principled application of representative democracy Trustee Ruda. I invite Trustee Ruda and the governing click to join me and others who stood in opposition, to celebrate the grandeur of representative democracy, while it still exists.

    We do not need minority opinions CANCELLED in the Village of Lancaster.
    Last edited by mark blazejewski; September 17th, 2020 at 05:37 PM.
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

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    Member gorja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark blazejewski View Post
    IMHO, BRAZENLY ASKED...








    ...AND DUTIFULLY ANSWERED...

    [/B][/COLOR]

    I note that the so-called survey was not unanimous in favor of the project. Bearing in mind that the governing authority is the VOL Board and not the VOL Politburo, it appears that the Mayor was giving a voice to those who did not, and do not, approve of the project.

    Mayor Schroeder's vote and explanation, appears to have been a principled application of representative democracy Trustee Ruda. I invite Trustee Ruda and the governing click to join me and others who stood in opposition, to celebrate the grandeur of representative democracy, while it still exists.

    We do not need minority opinions CANCELLED in the Village of Lancaster.
    I laughed my ass off. How long have they been planning this and he couldn't express his concerns until now?
    Just a nice throw away vote.

    Georgia L Schlager

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    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gorja View Post
    I laughed my ass off. How long have they been planning this and he couldn't express his concerns until now?
    Just a nice throw away vote.

    Just my opinion, but talk about delay, how about the case of Ruffino's grandstanding stupidity on full display when he demanded county interventions concerning weight limit signs effecting Pleasantview Drive, at least four months after Mayor Schroeder took the initiative last year?

    BTW, isn't a "throw-away" vote a political gimmick that Ruffino has frequently used to showboat his so-called conservative credentials; you know, like, in my opinion, that reckless and phony vote to deny the Town Council standby, emergency authority to raise the tax cap if necessity required?

    In any event, as a non-village town resident, I guess you can afford to laugh at otherwise CANCELLED voices of opposing village taxpayers, eh?
    Last edited by mark blazejewski; September 18th, 2020 at 12:29 AM.
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

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    Wow wonder if the weight limit signs will be returned to Stony Road ! When the Town #Dems dedicated a "drive way" as a street off of Stony Road - the weight limit signs disappeared.

    Quite sure they will say the County did it -
    #Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !

  6. #6
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    BTW,

    It is my understanding that our residence seemingly did not receive a hard copy of the survey, and it appears that our vote for some reason was not accepted online.

    Just sayin'.
    Last edited by mark blazejewski; September 18th, 2020 at 09:34 AM.
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

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    As someone who lives in a community of roundabouts, I literally dislike them. There has been more accidents and speeding occurring including driving up onto the curb causing cracking in the integrity of the curbside. That being said, the plausible explanation to have roundabouts is for one reason and one reason only, to continue the traffic flow. It does do that.

    As for Schroder not voicing his opinion when it was deemed appropriate, is once again another political tactic on his part. Obstruction and innuendo's have always been his forte'. Mark you know better, and you and I have done some work together on this matter, I'll leave that there.

    As for the voices unheard, that is a cop out. If Schroder wanted to be inclusive, he had ample opportunities to bring the concerns of others forward. He is the master of "smoke & mirrors" tactic(s).

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    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shortstuff View Post
    Mark you know better, and you and I have done some work together on this matter, I'll leave that there.
    Shortstuff, we are going to disagree on this issue and I too am going to let it reside in the world of "Agree To Disagree."

    But regarding the issue of roundabouts, many VOL residents, such as myself, regard this as just another illusory Band-Aid on a general 59-year-old problem regarding the "reimagination" of the downtown area of the Village.

    I remember watching the fire departments tackle the fire on that Sunday night in 1961. I also remember all too vividly what might be termed the Urban Renewal magic wand that was cast, which gave Lancaster the THE BIG H, the Lancaster Towers, and the what was the then-to-be Western Savings Bank; a massive, fast-paced, community-changing frenzy of activity which failed to accomplish the promised delivery of permanent and satisfactory revitalization.

    With that said, I vividly recall the concerned observations of a then-VOL Trustee who, among other concerns, noted that the Lancaster Fire Department(s) contemporaneous to the early 1970s, did not have an adequate hook and ladder vehicle which could reach the top floors of the Towers; a valid and significant safety concern.

    In my opinion, a holding which was, and still is, shared by others, that early 1970s VOL planning was rather closely held, slickly packaged, and applied with urgent, if not reckless, dispatch and arrogance. Many voices which, at that time, expressed opposing viewpoints and serious concerns, were either ignored or otherwise severely marginalized, much in the same way that I perceive the Ruda comments to be doing so today.

    Nah, I disagree shortstuff, because, perhaps in the interests of applying the Santayana theory of history, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," Schroeder's vote appears to have dutifully honored the views of the suppressed or otherwise marginalized voices.
    Last edited by mark blazejewski; September 18th, 2020 at 12:39 PM.
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

  9. #9
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    JUST MY OPINION:

    From The Lancaster Sun, September 17, 2020...




    I am deeply troubled by many of Trustee Ruda's comments concerning the roundabout issue which are resident in the September 17, 2020 edition of The Lancaster Sun.

    First, while Trustee Ruda, based upon a survey measuring the desire for the roundabouts, asserted "The public is in support of the project," she did not address some valid questions regarding the reliability of the survey or if the survey process defended against the opinions of non-village residents.

    In that connection, while such a survey was contained in a VOL Newsletter, and that survey may have been included with some VOL bills, it was not presented, in my opinion, in such a way as to raise broad participant awareness. Ergo, would not one think that if the intention of that survey was to truly and accurately measure the opinions of VOL residents, that it would have been circulated in the form of a more conspicuous mailing designated for that specific purpose?

    In that regard, our residence independently engaged the survey online. Our survey answers, for some reason unknown to us, were not accepted by the VOL website.

    With that said, based upon the rather unremarkable presentation of the hardcopy survey, along with the seemingly temperamental online machinery to measure public engagement, legitimate questions can and should be raised regarding the reliability of the survey.

    More specifically, I direct your attention to this comment present on the online survey analysis: "Note: there may be other duplicate survey responses since only 456 survey respondents provided contact information and 544 responses were anonymous."

    Reference: https://www.lancastervillage.org/dow...oundabout.html

    Second, and even more concerning to me, were Trustee Ruda's comments which curiously questioned (if not inappropriately challenged) Mayor Schroeder's vote in support of those constituents who were, and remain, in opposition to the roundabout project.

    With the seeming tone and temperament of a scolding 19th Century schoolmarm, Trustee Ruda seemingly berated the Mayor for his dissent in support of the "minority," and seemed to reprimand him for his non-compliance with her prescribed template for proper institutional behavior.

    Regarding Mayor Schroeder's "No" vote, Trustee Ruda stated "We've been discussing this for days and you've said nothing..."

    Moreover, as reported in The Lancaster Bee, September 17, 2020, Trustee Ruda actually " questioned Schroeder’s decision to vote against the resolution."

    In those combined comments and news reports, Trustee Ruda seemingly failed to note Mayor Schroeder's prior assertion of April 14 advising that he stood in opposition to the project.

    It is particularly alarming that Trustee Ruda, who seems to have a well-trained ear for the music of a perceived symphonic majority, appears to be tone deaf to the lesser sounds of the "minority's" sonata.

    In cleaving to the results of the so-called "survey" as almost the sole validation of her cause, the freshman Trustee appears to have dismissed the virtues and purpose of representative democracy itself. As an elected official, participating in a body which was in part established to preserve, if not value, the voice of the minority, is it not reasonable to assume that Ms. Ruda surely must have known that such comments would stand in defiance of the Constitutional principles to which she swore to uphold?

    No singular comment of Trustee Ruda best illustrates her indifference to the views of the minority than her published quote: "So, why are you ignoring the 60%?"

    That quote either indicates Trustee Ruda's ignorance of the purpose of representative democracy, or a predisposition toward tantrumatic engagement, does it not?

    Mayor Schroeder gave voice to the mute; Trustee Ruda led the cheering for the majority. In short, one offered representative democracy at its finest; the other celebrated the chaos of arrogant CANCELLATION.

    Again, the foregoing is just my opinion.
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    Last edited by mark blazejewski; September 18th, 2020 at 08:51 PM.
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

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    Member gorja's Avatar
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    Robert THill's Letter to the Editor this week -

    Community controversy beneficial
    September 24, 2020

    Congratulations to Lancaster village trustees Lynne Ruda, Paul Maute, Joe Quinn and Paul Rudz who voted to approve the project proposal and design for the Lancaster roundabout project.

    There is no question whatsoever that this project elicited extensive community controversy. Public opinion and controversy benefits the governance of a municipality. I have seen its beneficial effects for 51 years, 36 years as Lancaster town clerk and 15 years on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

    Public opinion keeps elected officials on their toes, requiring them to research diligently. I know that trustee Lynne Ruda made every effort to contact as many opponents of this project as she could to elicit their concerns. Lynne Ruda and the other village trustees collaborated with state, county, and local engineers, all creditable experts. They elicited factual information on the safety benefits of the project for the motoring and pedestrian citizenry and weighed those benefits against the perceived detriments to local businesses during construction. Then, they had the courage to vote their findings.

    Robert Thill


    That about sums it up. Totally agree.

    Georgia L Schlager

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    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    FYI...

    Fatal crash prompts safety concerns with Hamburg roundabout

    By: Ali Touhey

    Posted at 4:49 PM, Apr 12, 2021 and last updated 5:08 PM, Apr 12, 2021

    Driving through a roundabout can be confusing, just ask Shawn Griffin.

    “People pull out in front of you and don’t look. It is a dangerous situation if you’re not paying attention,” he said.

    Griffin would know. The Hamburg homeowner lives on South Park Avenue which is down the road from the roundabout where a bicyclist was struck and killed last month.

    There is a sign here on South Park Avenue that indicates the roundabout is coming. You can see if also shows the speed is reduced to 15 mph. The concern though is that it doesn’t give drivers enough warning the roundabout is coming.

    “If you had some signage or blinking lights it would alert people to an oncoming situation,” Griffin explained.

    Hamburg Town Supervisor James Shaw agrees.

    “Enhanced signage would be good at a greater distance to alert motorists,” Shaw said.

    He said that’s something the town may consider. Homeowners like Shawn Griffin think it’s the right move.

    “A traffic circle requires more awareness than other traffic devices.”

    Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

    Reference: https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news...3qGvKy4rlPQWLo

    Click Attachment:


    Quote Originally Posted by mark blazejewski View Post
    Surely you do not object to the rights of the minority, part and parcel of which is the taxpayer/resident right to free expression, correct?

    Just think of the seeming disregard for the opinions of many taxpayers and residents which may be in play here Lanc. With or without their consent, taxpayers paid for the project with their public tax dollars; and yea, grant money ultimately comes from the taxpayers.

    These people are only freely expressing their concern(s), much of which stems around the potential confusion and safety issues which may attend the project.
    Last edited by mark blazejewski; April 12th, 2021 at 06:51 PM.
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

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