Sidewalks in Ballston Spa
A draft pedestrian master plan identifies missing sidewalks and unsafe road crossings in the Village of Ballston Spa, and the leadership is looking for public input via an online meeting, Nov. 18, says a story in the Daily Gazette. This input is on top of the roughly 160 collected comments that noted missing sidewalks and asked for connections to the Zim Smith Trail, for traffic calming measures and for improvements to bus shelters.
Rivers Ledge in Niskayuna moves forward
Phase 2 of the Rivers Ledge housing development on Aqueduct Road in Niskayuna includes 60 apartments for seniors, down from 100 listed in earlier plans, the Daily Gazette says. Phase 1 includes 160 apartments under development. The second phase is smaller because wetlands on the property prevented a full build-out, the story says. The three-storey building would include an underground parking garage and fitness center.
Snow plows will sit without drivers
Some communities are struggling to find snowplow drivers, the Times Union is reporting. Rotterdam is facing a shortage. Colonie has enough, but they have had troubles getting the drivers they’ve gotten. Other localities are facing various levels of staffing troubles from none to painful, the story says.
Barkenhagen highlighted
Page 5 of this week’s Chronicle has a profile of Robin Barkenhagen, who has run for office six times and lost each, but still manages a very upbeat attitude. He lost last week to Bob Landry for the Ward 2 Glens Falls Common Council seat that was left open when Bill Collins decided to run for mayor; Collins ran unopposed and won. Barkenhagen owns the 42 Degree Glass Shop and Tavern, an advertiser with FoothillsBusinessDaily.com. [Barkenhagen is also the president of the Glens Falls Collaborative. FoothillsBusinessDaily.com is the media sponsor of that group.]
LPLC may merge with Adk Land Trust
Land conservation groups, the Lake Placid Land Conservancy and the Adirondack Land Trust, are in merger discussions, the Adirondack Explorer is reporting. The agreement would have the LPLC transferring its easements and properties to the ALT, without losing the protections of the land. LPLC leadership says this is the best way forward to keep the land safe, the story reports.