Chester not encouraging on bike lane idea

CHESTER-A bicycling advocate wants Kings Highway made narrower so that cycling lanes can be made wider. And he wants an island installed at the turn area where Kings Highway meets Route 17M. The Chester Village Board didn't jump at the ideas. In his presentation to the board on Monday, Vince Herlehy, president of the Sugar Loaf Community Foundation, asked that a stretch of road between Sugar Loaf and Route 17M in the Village of Chester be narrowed from 12 feet to 11 feet. "The intersection is very wide, close to probably seven lanes," he said. "It creates a real crossing problem for pedestrian and bicyclists." Herlehy is also on the Orange County Bike Club's safety committee and the vision committee working on sidewalk and road upgrades in Sugar Loaf. He said the county Department of Public Works is planning a major overhaul next year of Kings Highway, and a biking and pedestrian lane should be part of the plan. He wants the town and village to get behind his proposal. "The county [Department of Public Works] is reluctant to divulge any information about its plans," he said. The road, also known as County Route 13, was built in 1934 for a rural community of 2,200 people, Herlehy said. Now there are some 13,200 people in the area, six times that number. "Roads of the ‘30s are no longer appropriate for pedestrians and bicyclists," he said. The road varies in width and so lacks the uniformity needed to build in an extra lane, he said. The town is considering a resolution from Herlehy to widen the road for an extra lane. On Wednesday night, the town board asked the town attorney to review the resolution. Village officials said it is up to the state to determine the width of the intersection at Kings and 17M. And they noted that the island installed on Kings by the United Parcel Service building is routinely run over. "As wide as that intersection is, you can see the tractor-trailer tracks on the island from where they come out of Route 13 onto 17M," said Thomas Bell, the village streets commissioner. Kenneth Frank, the village attorney, said, "I don't know that you want to encourage that much pedestrian traffic in that area." But Herlehy responded: "There has to be a place for people who don't have cars." He pitched the health aspects of bicycling. He said kids need a less sedentary lifestyle. "This is a nice thought, but there's a lot more to be done on Kings Highway," said Trustee Philip Valastro. "I would never have my kids on Kings Highway, to ride, or to walk." His family uses the Heritage Trail, he said. Mayor Susan Bahren said local adult bicycling groups go into Warwick for their rides. Trustee Jack Deshler said trucks can be up to 102 inches wide and need extra road surface to maneuver. "If you want to reduce it to 11 feet, that doesn't give a truck much room," he said. "I think you're creating a dangerous situation." Deshler concluded that the road needs to be widened, not made more narrow. "They are public roads," Herlehy countered, "We are entitled under common law, not just trucks and motor vehicles." Bahren said she will have someone get in touch with Herlehy about his request. "Let's see what the town approves this week," she said.