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Despite Advanced Stage, Residents Will Have An Opportunity To Offer Input Into DOT’s Roundabout Plans
Dozens of speakers spoke out against the proposed construction of a single-lane roundabout at the intersection of Route 9W and Oak Tree Road in Palisades late last month during a Town of Orangetown Board meeting. Nearly all urged Town Supervisor Teresa Kenny to halt the project, and on Wed. evening at 6 pm the public will have a chance to air their concerns to the New York Department of Transportation (DOT) at a town-sponsored meeting.
However, it might be too late to hit the breaks on the proposed traffic scheme because the project is in its final planning and development stages.
The DOT says the proposed $4 million roundabout project (new estimates have raised the costs to between $5 million to $6 million) will improve traffic flow and address crash rates at the intersection. It would replace the existing signalized intersection with a modern roundabout, including construction of a new sidewalk, crosswalks with pedestrian refuge islands, bus pads and curb ramps in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In 2023, former Congressman Mondaire Jones (D-NY) helped secure federal funding for the project through the passage of the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus appropriations bill. This funding will be used to improve the Palisades, New York corridor of 9W to correct a long history of dangerous traffic patterns and traffic conditions at the Oak Tree Road and Route 9W. A single-lane roundabout will be built at an intersection where many accidents occur every year.
Palisades is the entry point into New York State from New York City and New Jersey, making it an essential and significant thoroughfare to all points north along Route 9W and the NYS Thruway and points to the west by way of Oak Tree Road.
But residents who live along the corridor don’t see it that way. They universally derided the plan as unnecessary and potentially dangerous, citing the steep incline leading to the potential roundabout that would result in vehicles, particularly trucks (Route 9W is a state road) gathering speed as they approach the roundabout. Sneden’s Landing residents who live along Route 9W said they objected to the roundabout because it will create an unnatural pathway to the post office, a destination they travel to by foot. Other residents spoke about the barrier a roundabout would create to walking dogs or visiting friends on the other side of Route 9W or going to the Route 9W Market.
“This is an ineffective remedy,” said Greta Nettleson of Palisades.
David Seger of Palisades said residents have a “front row seat on cars, cyclists, and trucks,” and that what’s needed is additional study and perhaps another traffic light.
Residents also begged Kenny for help, saying a roundabout will destroy the character of the existing neighborhood.
Kenny said this is a state project; that her hands were tied. But residents who’d met with state and local officials, including Sen. Bill Weber, said he’d told them to engage Kenny in their battle against the project. The Supervisor told residents to attend Wednesday’s meeting to express their thoughts.
The DOT says in comparison to most intersections, roundabouts see 90 percent fewer fatalities due to accidents, 76 percent fewer vehicular and traffic-related injuries, and 35 percent fewer crashes overall. While traditional intersections have “32 points of potential conflict between vehicles and 24 points of potential conflict between vehicles and pedestrians, roundabouts only have eight points of conflict with each.”
Still, residents say they have the “lived experience” of dealing with the junction of Oak Tree Road and 9W, and they believe the construction will be disruptive and the end result will be unnecessary and dangerous.
The DOT plans to begin the one-year construction project in 2027. Pedestrian access will be maintained during the project, according to the agency.
Plans for safety improvements at the Palisades intersection have been evolving since 2020 when the DOT had contacted three property owners with land abutting Route 9W about acquiring portions of their property. At that time, the plan included removal of the northbound bus stop at the intersection of Route 9W and Washington Spring Road, and installation of two new large bus stops; one in the “forever green” triangle on Oak Tree Road and the other on Route 9W slightly north of the Washington Spring Road intersection.
Also under consideration at the time was widening Route 9W to create turning lanes.
Neither of those plans materialized, and the current plan calls for a roundabout – the design the DOT has advanced. Solicitation of construction and construction inspection services are underway.
While there are formal design and construction plans, the agency has yet to publish them for public review. As the project has transitioned into active procurement for construction, comprehensive engineering blueprints and spatial specifications are accessible through formal state platforms and are restricted to licensed engineering firms.
The project is expected to cost between $5 and $6 million dollars.
Feedback and comments can be directed to the DOT to Chris Hann, at chris.hann@dot.ny.gov, or by calling 845-432-5878.
