By ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

CANTON -- The Town Council and Village Board of Trustees are considering sending resolutions or letters voicing support for recommendations by the Canton Complete Streets Task Force asking the state to improve the shoulders of Highway 68.

The road which stretches south from the village through the town is due for a state Department of Transportation makeover this summer.

Route 68 is notably narrow in places in the town and village, with virtually no road shoulders in places.

"State Highway 68 East is considered a local gateway to the Adirondack State Park and nearby recreational areas like Higley Flow State Park. In addition to the heavy motorized vehicle traffic from commuters and visitors, the highway is frequently used by cyclists and pedestrians, but at considerable risk because no paved shoulders exist along the road," writes Toby Irven, Complete Streets chairman in a letter to the two boards.

Complete Streets, a joint town and village committee, is recommending one of two ideas for DOT to improve the road, Irven said.

The first recommendation is to pave shoulders on both sides of the highway along the 13.6 miles of road between the intersection of NY-68 E and NY-11 in the Village of Canton and the intersection of NY-68 E and NY-56 in Colton, through the Town of Canton.

The second idea would involve:

• Paving shoulders for the section of road between the intersection of NY-68 E and NY-11 in the Village of Canton and the intersection of SH 68 West and St Lawrence University Sustainability Semester house at 1894 NY-68 E in Canton;

• Paint fog lines on the highway wherever new road shoulders have been paved;

• Mark a crosswalk at the entrance of the St Lawrence University Sustainability house, 1894 NY-68, Canton; and

• Mark a crosswalk at the main entrance of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Farm at 2043B NY-68 #4453, Canton, NY.

The village reviewed the Complete Streets recommendation at its meeting in March. The town board discussed the issue at their meeting Wednesday, April 8 on the Zoom cloud conferencing platform.

"We did get notified from Complete Streets, a request to send a letter to the New York State Department of Transportation," said Town Supervisor Mary Ann Ashley. "There is going to be a project on our Route 68 and there are some suggestions from the Complete Streets committee regarding that."

"Our batting average for requests from DOT are pretty slim picking, and I think it would be more appropriate to do a resolution," said Ashley.

"Well I realize at this point it's hard to say what the budget is going to be, if the paving is going to happen or when it's going to happen," said Canton Village Trustee Klaus Proemm, a Complete Streets member, who attended the town meeting remotely. "But I think we, the town and village, should go on the record and we would request that they improve the shoulder along that road. . . It would really be a huge safety improvement."

"Even though the record might not be great, I think a letter to the DOT couldn't hurt," said Proemm. "A resolution would be good too but I think a letter from both the town and village would be good to have on the record just to make our case that we request this."

"This is a no brainer for me. I think we write the letter or resolution or even both and that the town sends one and the village sends one," said Town Councilman Bob Washo, also a member of Complete Streets. "The majority of that road is in the town, although a portion of it is in the village. So I think two letters or two resolutions will get more attention."

"The village is on board. The village will support this and the mayor is willing to write a letter," said Proemm. "I would encourage the town board support this."

Town Councilman Tim Danehy asked about the Task Force's recommendation to have crosswalks added to the highway in the town section of Route 68 most of which is posted for 55 miles per hour.

"I don't recall seeing a crosswalk outside of a village . . . in a 45 or 55 mile an hour speed zone. So, I'm just curious if that is something being done elsewhere?" Danehy said.

"We would certainly look into that. That's a good point. We could look at what other locations are doing and find out how the DOT has handled other locations. But absolutely we could look into that," Proemm said.

"I'm just not sure how effective a crosswalk is in a 55 mile an hour speed zone," Danehy said.

Proemm said the Task Force would look into it further and see how other areas have handled it.

"My suggestion is that the town and village do separate letters on this and have them tailored to rural and village needs," Washo said.

"That makes sense," Proemm said.

"And if it's possible for us to get some clarity on the feasibility of crosswalks in those kinds of speed zones. I'd like to see what the current state of the art is on that before we incorporate that into a letter," Danehy said.

Ashley suggested the issue could be referred back to the Complete Streets group for further clarification.

"And, I'm a firm believer that a resolution needs to be passed by the board. I think it adds value (to the request)," said Ashley.

The issue was referred back to Complete Streets and is expected to be added to the May meeting agenda said Ashley.

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