Town resident airs traffic complaint

By KAYLEIGH KARUTIS, The Leader-Herald
JOHNSTOWN — Armed with maps and statistics, a resident spoke to the Town Board Monday about what she called an “atrocious” traffic situation on Elmwood Avenue.

Karen Langlois, who said she lives on Elmwood Avenue, presented the Town Board with a map outlining the businesses on North Pine Street and Elmwood. Also included on the map were the accidents that have occurred in front of those businesses and at various intersections nearby.

Elmwood runs parallel to Route 30A and North Pine. Langlois’ map specified 32 accidents that have occurred in the area from January 2007 to April 2008.

Langlois said she was concerned the Town Board focused on Big Mike’s while leaving other businesses nearby unexamined.

Big Mike’s owner Mike McGrail recently revamped parking around his food vending business to comply with Town Planning Board requirements. At a public hearing for the Big Mike’s site plan last week, several residents complained the town was unfairly focusing on Big Mike’s while leaving other businesses and their traffic situations unaddressed.

“If you’re going to speak to Mike, you need to look into everyone else,” Langlois said.

Langlois said more children are in the area in the summer. She said she is concerned about the safety of children playing on or around Elmwood or North Pine.

“The accidents have happened,” she said. “You’ve got to check into the other places here.”

Board member Thomas Hart asked Langlois why she did not speak at the Big Mike’s public hearing. Langlois said the public hearing was focused solely on the Big Mike’s site plan and she did not feel her complaint was applicable.

Hart disagreed, saying the information Langlois had “would have been helpful” at the public hearing.

Langlois said she and other residents have been concerned about the area for many years. She said she has spoken with officials at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department about posting a lower speed limit during school hours or possibly changing the layout of traffic lights.

Undersheriff Kevin Lenahan said he responded to Langlois’ Freedom of Information Law request seeking information about accidents.

Other than filling Langlois’ FOIL request, Lenahan said he had no contact with Langlois.

“I know the town has posted stop signs around that area in an effort to slow traffic and there have been patrols enforcing the stop signs,” he said. “That number [of accidents cited by Langlois] seems high to me.”

Langlois said she created the map solely with information from her FOIL request.

She said her neighbors created a petition several years ago asking the town to address the area but failed to make any progress. Now, she said, she hopes the Town Board will discuss the issue with the Planning Board and the Sheriff’s Department.