GUILDERLAND — While many agree that another nursing home on Mercycare Lane is a good idea, some have reservations about added traffic to the "dangerous" intersection of Mercycare Lane and Route 20.

The town’s zoning board last Wednesday decided to continue an application for a new complex for the elderly until an engineer can explore traffic and other issues.
First Columbia wants to construct an "assisted-living facility" with 84 beds on Mercycare Lane, behind the already-existing Our Lady of Mercy Life Center. The building would be two-and-a-half stories, accommodating three floors.
A plan for a similar facility, to be called Rosewood Estates, was approved by the town in 1998. First Columbia had "partnership issues that fell through," said representative Mark Bette of why the first project didn’t happen.
"This is a rejuvenation of the 1998 project," said Bette. "Then we were a 106-unit facility. We’ve downsized, but we’re going to use the exact same parcel."

The proposal uses one-and-a-half acres of a six-acre, heavily-treed parcel.
"We feel, as we did in ’98, that there is a great need for this facility," said Bette.

Mercycare Lane, off of a busy stretch of Route 20, is a dead-end road that currently serves the Our Lady of Mercy center, the St. Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center, and the Guilderland Public Library. A large number of emergency vehicles already need access to the road, said town planner Jan Weston. She worries that the lane can’t handle more traffic.
But, in comments to the zoning board, Weston also wrote that the new facility, "would be a great asset to the town."

Mercycare Lane is a block from Windingbrook Drive, which leads to the Fairwood Apartments and the Guilderland YMCA and ends at Nott Road. A few years ago, studies were conducted that resulted in a traffic light being installed on Route 20 and Windingbrook Drive.

Library representatives and others wanted a light at Mercycare Lane, but were denied.

Last Wednesday, many questions were raised about whether it was safe to add more traffic to Mercycare Lane.

A portion of Windingbrook Drive can be built to connect to Mercycare Lane, Bette said, but the lane is owned by the Mercycare corporation and he doesn’t know how it feels about such a project.

Weston and zoning board Chairman Bryan Clenahan suggested that Mercycare Lane become a town road.

Clenahan reported that the town supervisor told him the highway superintendent, Todd Gifford, has no problem with making Mercycare Lane a town road. But, he said, the road has to be brought up to town specifications.

Making Mercycare Lane a town road has been discussed for years, Gifford told The Enterprise this week. Work must be done on the road first, he said, but he is not opposed to the idea.
"The ball is in their court," Gifford said of Mercycare Lane.

He added that a connection exists between Mercycare Lane and Windingbrook Drive. That path has to be upgraded to accommodate vehicle traffic, he said. Most of Windingbrook Drive is a town road.

At last Wednesday’s meeting, Clenahan said he’s not sure how much more volume Windingbrook Drive can handle. It’s an unlit, curvy road with a lot of residences, he said.
"We’re not relying on it as our primary access road," Bette said.

But, he said, signs can direct people to use Windingbrook Drive to access Mercycare Lane when traffic is busy.

Several residents, who waited for four hours, then had their chance to speak. First was Robert Ganz, president of the Guilderland library’s board of trustees.
In general, the library is "thrilled" that more senior citizens will live in this part of town, Ganz said. He expects the library will have more elderly patrons as a result, he said.

But, he said, for years the library has been reaching out to various agencies — the state’s Department of Transportation, the town supervisor, the Guilderland Police — about the traffic problem on Mercycare Lane. A petition was signed by 750 people earlier, saying a traffic light was wanted there, he said.

Last week, Ganz went on, a librarian’s car was hit as she tried to turn onto Route 20 from Mercycare Lane. She spent five days in the hospital, he said.
"Making it a public road is not enough," Ganz said. "We must have the town or state prohibit left turns from Mercycare Lane...If they don’t do that, we’ll all meet at funerals."
"You have the opportunity to prevent what potentially could be a serial tragedy," said Brian Hartson, a library trustee. "It’s a disaster waiting to happen."

Laurel Bohl, who lives on Western Avenue, 100 feet from Mercycare Lane, told the board that she was in a serious car accident trying to turn into her driveway. Her mother, too, was in a similar accident, she said.
"A good solution is to extend the median strip in the middle," Bohl said. "You can’t divert traffic from Mercycare Lane without a light or a median. New signage to direct people to Windingbrook Drive won’t do it."

She also expressed concerns about the height of the proposed building. It may ruin the view, she said, and it may be hard to evacuate three floors in case of an emergency.

The board then decided to designate Delaware Engineering to explore the issues of traffic, parking, access, lighting, stormwater management, landscaping, and wetlands.