To the Editor:

I see that the Guilderland Zoning Board of Appeals approved a variance for Pyramid to open a fast-food restaurant with a drive-thru on the vacant land bordering the entrance to Crossgates Mall [Guilderland ZBA approves Pyramid variance for Western Avenue drive-thru,” The Altamont Enterprise, May 26, 2025].

Going west on Western Avenue (Rt 20), that area has three lanes of traffic starting from where the Northway ends at the intersection of the Northway and Western Avenue, just east of the New York Thruway overpass and ending just past the hotel and prior to the Stewart’s Shop.

That extreme righthand lane has been a high-speed passing zone to avoid the backlog of traffic at the Church Street traffic light. Cars use that lane and then quickly merge into traffic just prior to the Stewart’s Shop gas station, resulting in several near accidents at that point from what I have observed while driving west on Route 20.

Now we are going to add another cutout into the road and perhaps more chances of an accident due to someone wanting to make a left onto Western Avenue and go east! Now obviously there aren’t plans for the site or where entrance and exits will be, but the thought of this is ludicrous.  

As brought out during the hearing, about the traffic that is going to be created once Costco and the cancer center are built and operational: From 4 p.m. until around 5:30 p.m. on any given weekday, the traffic from the Northway-Western Ave intersection going west is slow and very full. Just the count of traffic stated in the hearing backs my concerns.

Are tax dollars more important than the lives of the citizens of our community? I hope, when plans are submitted for the building of this establishment, the issue of entrance and exits are severely discussed.

Craig Bousquet

Guilderland