Lower speed limit on Pulaski Highway denied

Pine Island—Chris Pawelski’s address has been Pulaski Highway all of his 39 years. He spends a decent amount of his time using the road, too, as an onion farmer going from his home to his fields. Pawelski has seen many changes on the road over the years. It’s gotten much busier and the increased traffic has gotten faster. But it was an accident in December that pushed Pawelski and his neighbors to ask for changes on the road. “There was an accident in December in front on my house, “ said Pawelski. “They were speeding and one guy took out two utility poles and went into a ditch just past the Quaker Creek Store. He was lucky he wasn’t killed.” At the scene, an impromptu neighborhood meeting took place and the residents decided enough was enough. In January, they formally requested both Warwick and Goshen reduce the speed limit from 55 to 45. It seemed like a no-brainer. Not only did 94 local residents sign the petition to have the speed limit reduced, but both town boards unanimously agreed with them. G & G Bus Service, Inc., the Florida Union Free School District’s transportation company, also wrote a letter to each of the town boards, putting their support squarely behind the move to reduce the speed limit. In New York State, it is not the local municipalities or even the county that can change a speed limit. So, the towns made the request to the New York State Department of Transportation. In May, much to the surprise of the residents and the town boards, the state denied the request to make the speed limit 45 miles per hour, and instead said, “We would prefer not to change the existing 55 MPH speed limit on County Route 6.” “About half a dozen serious accidents, requiring the assistance of emergency/first responders, have occurred on or around the Quaker Creek Store in the last three years,” said Pawelski. “My heart is in my throat when I drive my tractor. I use all my hand signals and still people are speeding by me.” Pawelski thinks the problem stems mainly from the growing number of commuters who use Pulaski Highway as a primary route to get to Route 17 and the Thruway. Supervisor Douglas Bloomfield of the Town of Goshen agrees. “I’m very disappointed,” said Bloomfield about the state’s decision not to change the speed limit. “It was unanimous with the board. We are all Goshenites. We all know what that road is like. We’re the people who live here. We’re the people who work here. This is a safety issue.” Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton also expressed his disappointment with the state on this. “We have asked them to reconsider,” said Sweeton. “The Town Board concurred with the residents’ wishes and desires, so we’re disappointed they didn’t make the change.” Sweeton doesn’t like the way the process is done, anyway, noting that he has a file with half a dozen speed reduction requests, just waiting to hear from the state. “I think the whole procedure is crazy,” said Sweeton. “The Association of Towns is lobbying to give jurisdiction back to the towns and has been for quite a while. This procedure is contrary to home rule.” Randy Harwood, the civil engineer who reviewed the request and made the recommendation to keep the speed limit where it is, said he followed the procedure and came to his decision and will stand by it. “I reviewed the road from an engineering standpoint,” said Harwood. “I rode with the state police to get an independent view. We set speeds that are reasonable for people who live on the road and use the road.” Pawelski said the review of the road was done in March, before the growing season and “probably the slowest time.” He also said it was done after the morning rush and after the school kids were picked up. “I would have loved to ride the road with them,” said Pawelski. “I could have shown them where the tractors pull out, where there is little site distance. Also, a bike club uses this road in the nice weather.” Harwood, who said he came to Pulaski Highway again after the initial ride in March, did say the department would accept lowering the speed limit to 50 miles per hour, but that doesn’t please Pawelski or either of the town supervisors. “I’m amazed the DOT engineer would come down and say no,” said Bloomfield. “With the speed of cars and the impatience, we should not have to have an accident to prove a point.” Ironically, the speed limit on Pulaski Highway as it goes into New Jersey is 45 miles per hour. In New York, the speed limit on the road ranges from 35 miles per hour in Pine Island up to 55 miles per hour from the onion fields to the intersection of Pulaski and Pumpkin Swamp Road, and back to 35. For Pawelski and his neighbors, they certainly are not giving up. But they are also hoping that their safety is not jeopardized for much longer. “I’m nearly killed twice a year on this road,” said Pawelski, who sometimes waits two to three minutes just to be able to cross Pulaski Highway to get his mail. “I don’t want my tombstone to read ‘I died on Pulaski Highway.’”