The Elbridge Town Board recently heard back from the New York State Department of Transportation regarding multiple requests made on behalf of residents. Town Clerk Deb Stapleton contacted the DOT on Nov. 30 after a local business owner asked her if any decision had been made in response to the fatal car crash that took place on Route 5 in front of the Family Dollar on Aug. 11. “We heard there was a study done a few months ago – we heard of a possible traffic light, and also possibly widening the road, but people are concerned, and my question is if anything firm has been decided,” Stapleton wrote in an e-mail to DOT representative Larry Hasard. Hasard responded on Dec. 1 after speaking with state engineers. “There are actually three separate studies, one at Rt. 31 B, one at Hamilton Road, and a third at Sandbank Road,” Hasard said. Hasard said a final report should be finished and sent to the town within the next few weeks. “The study results provide some options,” he said. “No decisions have been made.” Hasard indicated that any changes beyond basic maintenance or pavement markings would require a capital construction project. “I know there are no projects for Route 5 in the current capital program,” he said, adding that possible solutions for Route 5 would have to compete for a future slot in the program. Hasard said priority is given based upon the seriousness of the problem and the cost to address it. “Unfortunately there are many more problems to address than we have funding for,” Hasard said. “Our planning office, in Syracuse, generally is the best source of information for future projects, and their timing. There will be ample opportunity for local input in the development of improvement projects in this section of Route 5.” Hydrofracking moratorium extended
At its Dec. 1 meeting, the town board approved a resolution to extend its local moratorium on horizontal hydraulic fracturing to Dec. 31, 2011. Town officials wanted to propose a resolution mandating the local moratorium stay in place until the NYSDEC and EPA determined the drilling procedure was safe, but town attorney Dirk Oudemool advised the board that the moratorium required a specific time frame. Governor David Paterson vetoed legislation Saturday Dec. 12 that would have suspended the issuance of drilling permits through May 15. In its place, he issued an executive order directing the DEC to do further comprehensive study on the drilling procedure. The order prohibits hydraulic fracturing in New York State until July 1, 2011.