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One of the hazards of rural roads is that the twist and turn, making visibility dicey.  When you add that to a 55 mile per hour speed limit on two lane roads there are bound to be accidents.  Last week East Lake resident Natalie Emlen presented a petition to the Lansing Town Board to approach the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) to do something to reduce accidents on East Shore Drive in the East Lake/ Waterwagon area.

"There is a long history of neighborhood concern," she said.  "The neighborhood was very concerned about safety, particularly at Waterwagon and East Lake.  As I talked to more people they asked me to extend the petition."

The previous week Emlen had presented Highway Superintendent Jack French with 88 signatures on a petition asking for Town support in approaching the DOT.  At last week's April board meeting she presented 55 more signatures.

Emlen also presented the board with accident statistics for that section of East Shore Drive she obtained through a Freedom of Information request she made to the State.  Of 59 automobile accidents last year 36 were collisions with deer.  11 were single car accidents, 10 two-car accidents, and one each involving three and four cars.  Accident reports cited unsafe speed, improper turning, failure to yield at a stop sign, and five rear-end collisions.

French reported that DOT engineer Stan Birchenough says New York State takes such requests more seriously when a municipal board backs requests to

"They look at it differently," French said.  "He said they look at it more seriously when it comes from town officials."

In 2009 Village of Lansing officials were successful in getting the DOT to lower the speed limit on East Shore Drive around Esty Hill from 55 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour.  Among the top issues in that neighborhood were a desire to stop the noise from diesel truck compression brakes, as well as cars speeding down the hill.

The board accepted the petition and statistics.  Lansing Supervisor Scott Pinney said the board will consider writing a letter to the DOT requesting that action be taken to mitigate speeding and accidents in the area. 

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