Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer
The Glens Falls Board of Public Safety voted unanimously at its March 13 meeting to urge rejection of Hoffman Car Wash’s plan to build at 194 Broad Street, where Steve’s Place restaurant closed on March 15. Hoffman is buying the property.
The Public Safety Board motion cited “a belief that this will unfavorably impact ambulance access to the hospital and also unfavorably impact the traffic into the City of Glens Falls.”
The Glens Falls Planning Board had unanimously granted conditional site plan and architectural approval for Hoffman Development Corp. to open a car wash contingent on final sign-off from the city’s Water & Sewer and Engineering Departments and Board of Public Safety.
Board of Public Safety members raised concerns about a car wash increasing traffic issues in an already busy area and questioned the site traffic study conducted by civil engineering company VHB.
When the car wash’s principal site design manager, Frank Palumbo of C.T. Male Associates, said the traffic study shows that the average delay in making a left-hand turn out of the site’s parking lot onto Broad Street is 16 seconds, Board Member Tambrie Alden said point-blank “I don’t believe that traffic study.”
Later, speaking on the project as a whole, she said, “Safety-wise, I don’t believe this is a good idea. I want to see another review, but I believe what is before us right now is not safe.”
The car wash plan now returns to the Glens Falls Planning Board, which next meets on Tuesday, April 2 at 4:45 p.m.
Copyright © 2024 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved
