To the Editor:

I’d like to thank James Pickett for his recent letter encouraging a safe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists. The town of Guilderland shares this goal. As a long-time resident with similar concerns and as the town’s grant writer, I’m familiar with the town’s past achievements and future plans to meet these goals.

Sidewalk construction is very expensive. A five-foot wide concrete sidewalk that complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act and other code requirements costs about $180 per linear foot, and that cost assumes that there are no difficulties like acquiring private property because a right-of-way is too narrow, no underground utilities, no stream or ravine crossings, and no other topographical impediments.

Constructing one mile of sidewalk on just one side of a street, with no impediments, costs around $950,000. In contrast, a five- foot wide paved surface, assuming no impediments, would cost about $65,000 for materials and could be installed by town highway department staff.

Despite these daunting and ever-increasing costs, the town has sought to promote pedestrian safety by constructing sidewalks as recommended in Guilderland’s comprehensive plan and subsequent neighborhood studies. Since the early 1980s, the town has also required that developers install sidewalks in residential subdivisions and at commercial development sites.

Prior to that requirement, the town experienced decades of rapid growth with no mandate in place to require sidewalks or to secure a right-of-way for their future installation. Although that requirement initially produced a patchwork of sidewalks on state and county roads, that patchwork would later save significant amounts of money when gaps began to be filled and larger segments were completed.

Beyond these efforts, the town has partnered with the county to construct sidewalks on their routes, including Fuller, Schoolhouse, and Johnston roads. The town worked closely with the state in its recent project that completed the sidewalk network on both sides of Western Avenue between Route 155 and the Albany city line, as well as on the project that extended sidewalks south along Route 155 from Western Avenue.

Also, the town used grant funds provided by the state to construct sidewalks on McKown Road, on Western Avenue, on Carman Road, and on Main Street in Guilderland Center. These sidewalks all provide safe pedestrian connections that link residential properties to other residential developments, as well as to businesses, services, parks, and schools.

The town continues to aggressively pursue grant funds for expansion of the current sidewalk network. Later this year, design work will commence on a $297,000 grant-funded sidewalk project to link Carman Road with Lynnwood Elementary School.

The town is currently working with the state on a $1.2 million federally-sponsored grant to promote safety by adding either turn lanes or a roundabout at the Carman Road-Lydius Street intersection, with sidewalks added along Carman Road. The town is also pursuing a grant opportunity to fund a sidewalk on Western Avenue that would connect the SEFCU [State Employees Federal Credit Union] facility to the Guilderland Public Library, which would also provide pedestrian access to Guilderland Elementary School and the YMCA.

Requiring sidewalks in connection with development proposals is a component of the town’s approach to improved pedestrian safety. The developer of the Mill Hollow project is required to build a sidewalk from the Town Senior Center to Town Hall.

Development projects currently under consideration by the town board would require that sidewalks be constructed on Route 155 from Western Avenue north to a proposed retirement community opposite the post office, and from a proposed senior residential facility on Western Avenue from Foundry Road to the Guilderland Public Library.

Bicycle lanes are also very expensive, despite the fact that they are paved and do not require concrete. As was the case with sidewalks, highways and streets were built for decades without reserving space for bicycle lanes. Opportunities to place bicycle lanes along major commuting routes such as Western Avenue and Carman Road are seriously compromised by restricted rights-of-way that do not allow for adequate shoulder widths.

Available funding for bike-lane construction on state and county roads is also severely limited at this time. Despite these difficulties, the town has actively pursued efforts to promote safe biking by posting signage and by designing, to the extent possible, new or reconstructed roads that allow space for bike lanes.

The town has also been nominated by Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy for a grant that will allow for the construction of bike lanes on certain town roads. The town also works closely with the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission, which provides an extensive network of mountain-biking trails in the preserve that are readily accessible from town parks and residential subdivisions.

The town will continue to maintain its focus and build on its successes in promoting the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists throughout our community. We welcome all suggestions from residents that will help us reach this goal.

Donald J. Csaposs

Guilderland

Editor’s note: Donald J. Csaposs works as a grant writer for the town of Guilderland.