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Not All Old Albany Post Road Residents Favor Paving
Dear Editor:
Last week's article on the controversy surrounding paving the lower section of Old Albany Post Road mischaracterizes local residents as uniformly favoring paving. We do not. I, along with three neighbors that I asked, oppose paving the section of the road we live on. Of the 15 or so homes on the stretch to be paved, there probably are others opposing paving as well.
Last April's severe storm did make the road impassable for three days, the first time that this has happened in the ten years my family has lived here. For those three days, we had to take a four minute detour if headed south. That alone can't be the reason to pave. Nor can the very unfortunate, costly losses that a few neighbors suffered when their driveways washed away in that flood. A paved road would have had no beneficial impact - to get to the road, these driveways cross a stream over embankments and culverts that eroded away.
There are several reasons why some residents oppose paving. Cars will drive faster, endangering our small children. The historic character and charm of the road will decline, and thus our property values. Any widening, grading or embankments required to meet town code would change very old property lines defined by stone walls, landscaping, huge boulders and old trees. Several old homes, including ours, are built right against the road.
An argument favoring paving is to reduce the significant efforts of our Highway Department, who must continually fix storm damage. However, the Philipstown Dirt Road Association, analyzing local Highway Department data, concluded that the cost of constructing and maintaining a paved road in Philipstown is significantly higher than maintaining a dirt road. These reports and the methods employed are available online. I haven't seen any local published data to the contrary.
The Number One goal set forth in the Philipstown 2020 Master Plan is to preserve our town's rural, historic character, including its dirt roads. In 1982, our 6.6 mile unpaved stretch of Old Albany Post Road was placed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places. It is what remains of what may be the oldest continually used road in America, surviving as a dirt road since it was first converted from an Indian trail.
That long history could change abruptly. According to the Town Board, if on November 20 the Town Board allocates money in the 2008 budget for paving, it will be in Mr. Chirico's sole discretion as Highway Superintendent to decide whether to pave. While Mr. Chirico wants to gather all interested parties to discuss this issue further, he has been very clear about his desire to pave.
I will ask the Town Board to not designate money in the 2008 budget for paving our road. No individual should be given the unilateral right to irreversibly change the character of such a historically important landmark without first prevailing on whether it is, on balance, a good thing.
David Thornquist
Garrison
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