29- How Many Accidents Make this Project UNaffordable?

This morning, January 21, at 8:52 AM, I was called by my neighbor, who was walking her 8 year old daughter to Woodstock Elementary School. She told me that there was something going on at Route 212 and Playhouse Lane, and that it involved two fire engines and an ambulance. I ran out the door with dog and camera, and before telling you what I learned about what happened, I feel that this series of photographs will say more than I ever could.

I interviewed one participant in the accident, and she described to me what happened. I have sketched her account in a handy diagram, below.

According to this woman, who was extremely flustered and did not wish to identify herself by name, she was driving east on route 212 when a car, parked in Playhouse Plaza parking lot, backed out. The car in front of this woman stopped so that the car could back out, and this woman also stopped, suddenly, in order to avoid driving into the car in front of her. The car behind her, which makes a third car on Route 212, failed to stop and drove into this woman's car. The photo of the crushed front end is a photo of the fourth car in the sequence.

In this diagram, car 1 (blue) backed out of the parking lot, backing out west in order to drive east, car 2 (pink) stopped to give blue car 1 room. Car 3 (yellow) was driven by the participant who spoke to me. She stopped Car 3 so that it would not hit Car 2. Car 4 (green) did not stop in time, and ploughed into Car 3. The photo of the white car with the crushed front end is Car 4.

Now, this is the intersection through which virtually all of the traffic to the RUPCO housing will drive. It is my opinion that the town of Woodstock cannot afford to accommodate much more traffic in this spot than it already does.

Creighton Manning Engineering, in research for Ulster County, in 2003, presented guidelines that make is clear that parking lots should not be placed in intersections, and if that can't be changed, that traffic in the relevant area should be limited. LIMITED is the opposite of introducing 400+ more car trips per day, every day, forever.

It is my opinion that the negative press Woodstock will receive for ANY accident at this intersection, after RUPCO has broken ground, is something the town cannot afford.

It is my opinion that the town of Woodstock will not be able to afford its casualty and liability insurance premium increases, once its insurance carrier, NYMIR, gets wind of this trend of reckless development.

But who am I to make an assessment of this situation? Just a person who is paying attention. Look at these photos, and this diagram, and look at what RUPCO wants to do, and has done in terms of measuring the safety of this intersection, and make your own assessment.