In response to concerns from Erieville residents and the Erieville Fire Department, the Nelson Town Board is working to change the parking ordinance along North Lake Road in Erieville by the Blue Canoe Grill to improve safety and ensure better emergency vehicle passage.
The board held an open discussion on the matter during its July 10 meeting, at which the attending residents unanimously felt a prohibition of parking on the north side of the road, opposite the Blue Canoe, would best satisfy emergency needs and the neighbors in that area. A public hearing was scheduled to be held in August to discuss a new local law to make the change.
The parking issue, which was discussed by the board last year, was again broached recently when the EFD advised the town board that the area near the Blue Canoe was congested at times and needed to be passable by emergency equipment. Visitors to the Blue Canoe (formerly Rosie’s), located at 3568 North Lake Road in Erieville, often park along both sides of North Lake Road, which leaves only a narrow alley passable by cars. Also, due to the configuration of the parking lot, the rear ends of cars parked adjacent to the road often stick out. This is not only prohibitive to emergency vehicles, but also upsetting to neighbors who must navigate the road daily and may at times find their driveways blocked.
There are currently seven signs along North Lake Road stating where cars may or may not park — signs which, residents argue, are unclear and even confusing — but, after a thorough records check by the town clerk, it was discovered there is no record of any parking law for that area of the town, said Nelson Town Councilor Michael Costello, who is also the highway department liaison for the board.
At the request of the town board, Madison County Highway department officials had agreed to review the parking signs on North Lake Road to help the town improve the situation, but the recent flooding has prevented them from doing so, Costello said.
During the public discussion, Blue Canoe neighbor Robert Bailey said the parking signs as currently placed are “unintelligible,” and that when parking was simply prohibited along the north side of the road as it was for many years, “there was no problem.”
EFD member Jane Magee agreed with Bailey that no parking along the north side of the road — “as it was for 40 years” — was the best solution to the current problem.
Blue Canoe owner Trish Bookbinder said she wants to help ensure community safety over the parking issue, but she also wants her customers to have a place to park.
“We certainly don’t want to discourage our customers from coming in,” she said. “I live in Cazenovia and I see what the parking has done to that community. Let’s work together to work this out.”
Town Supervisor Roger Bardstreet agreed. “We need to be able to navigate [the road] for emergency service, but we don’t want to go overboard [with regulation] because we want the business there to thrive,” he said.
The discussion made clear that all the residents present favored a no parking zone on the north side of North Lake Road as the best solution to the problem. The town board members agreed to hold an official public hearing on the issue at their Aug. 8 meeting.
Also at the meeting, the board:
—Scheduled a public hearing for 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the town office to review proposed zoning changes in the town land use regulations.
—Heard from Town Highway Superintendent Jack Sevier that the recent flooding partially washed out 10 pipes and caused some road damage. He said he estimates the highway department will use 1,000 yards of gravel to repair town roads, and the department will be working on flooding repairs “for the rest of the summer.”
—Unanimously reappointed Rhonda Weigand to a six-year term as town assessor.
—Approved a request from resident Tammy Hayes to post flyers in town hall and on the town website seeking participants in the CNY Energy Challenge. Hayes is seeking four or five households to use practices that conserve energy and reduce electric bills. Participants must be National Grid customers to participate. Hayes can be contacted at 480-5679.
—Approved a request from Dick Benner to use the town offices as the starting point for the Aug. 3 Mad Cow 5K Race, a Route 20 Road Challenge Event.
—Agreed to install a security camera inside the town office as part of the process to improve the building’s security.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
