Our walkable downtown project
We have cast and counted all the votes:
259 No
✅ 348 Yes
Set for January 21, we are having a special election
That special election will determine whether the Town carries out this project for a walkable downtown and has the option of issuing a bond to pay for the project.
Everyone registered to vote in New Lebanon can participate. Polls will be open from 8am till 8pm at the Catholic Church (at 732 US Highway 20, New Lebanon, NY, 12125).
But what’s this specific project?
There are three core parts to the walkable downtown project:
(1) Slowing down traffic on 20/22 — Narrowing the road is a proven way to calm and slow down traffic. The project calls for narrowing the shoulders down to 4 feet, narrowing each driving line by a foot down to 11 feet, and leaving the center turning lane at 12 feet.
(2) Putting in sidewalks — One will go from the high school to the library. The other will go from the brewery back to Midtown Mall. You can see the solid yellow lines above.
The sidewalks will have a hard, smooth, durable surface called stone dust, which is a mixture of limestone gravel and fine limestone particles.
(3) Adding two crosswalks — One will be at the library. The other will connect Midtown Mall and Valley Plaza. Both will have an island, making crossing safe.
Who pays for this project?
The State of New York has already awarded the Town 80% of the funds necessary to complete this project, which has a total cost of $2.5 million.
That was the result of a competitive grant process and the work of hundreds of hours of local volunteers, supported by the engineers at Creighton Manning.
The Town is responsible for 20% — or roughly $500k. The good news is that the Town has this money already. We can enjoy a more walkable downtown and the resulting benefits without a tax increase.
Did you know that New Lebanon used to have grand sidewalks?
Here’s the front and back of a postcard that Tony Murad mailed to all registered voters
👇 Below is a great presentation that Don Adams of Creighton Manning is delivering to the Town
You can catch one of two presentations in person.
• The first happened on Monday, December 30, at 6pm at Town Hall. It was live-streamed and recorded. You can catch the recording here. The action starts about 12 minutes in.
• The second happened on Saturday, January 11, at 11am at the community center. You can catch that recording here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did this project come from?
This project got started with a local builder. He’s lived in town for 50 years, and his name is Tony Murad. He has built many homes and restored historic buildings, most recent the Tilden School, which is now Roaring 20s brewery.
He had a conversation with someone from DOT, and they agreed about the possibility and promise of making New Lebanon’s downtown walkable.
Tony brought the idea to the Town Supervisor. A volunteer committee came together. And the Town began to engage residents and businesses on the topic.
A survey with 350 responses showed strong interest in the goals of calming and slowing down traffic and making our downtown more walkable and safer. Two subsequent public meetings enabled the Town to collect and incorporate input from 100 participants.
What are the main benefits of this project?
Different people will prioritize different benefits. Here are five main ones:
• Calming and slowing down traffic
• Improving safety for students, residents, and visitors
• Supporting local businesses
• Setting the stage for new businesses and housing
• Building civic pride
Why opt for stone dust over concrete?
Concrete is extremely expensive. It would have added great expense to this project’s cost. Stone dust is highly durable and much cheaper even after considering the higher costs of annual maintenance.
It’s worth adding that a more expensive project is bad for two reasons. The obvious one is that we’d have to pay more from our Town purse. But a higher price tag would also have made our grant application to the State less attractive and less competitive.
Also, stone dust is much better for the environment. Producing concrete is highly carbon-intensive.
What is stone dust anyway?
It’s a mixture of limestone gravel and fine limestone particles, and it is becoming more popular in New York, with a new path connecting Lake Placid and Saranac Lake and another in Valatie. In addition, the new paths in Shatford Park are stone dust. They are ADA-compliant.
The stone dust sidewalks downtown would be built like dirt roads with multiple layers of material. The builder will remove at least 12 inches of dirt and put down a layer of road fabric. Then the builder will put down a mixture of coarse sand and crushed stone, compacting and grading that material to make sure the pathway is very level. Then the builder will put down a top layer of stone dust, compacting and giving it a 2% grade to ensure minimal puddles and erosion from stormwater.
Will maintenance be expensive?
The engineers at Creighton Manning have estimated that the Town would have to budget less than $8,000 a year for short- and long-term maintenance.
Normal maintenance happening annually — nine out of every ten years — would cost about $3,200. And then once-a-decade maintenance would cost $50,000. That’s a total of $78,000 in costs every ten years.
And what about snow removal?
The Town Board can vote to have the Town assume responsibility at very little expense, so it won’t fall on individual land owners and small businesses.
You put a four foot blade on a quad and you run it up and down the both sides of the road.
One local contractor estimated it would cost about $6500 annually, assuming normal amounts of snowfall. Here’s the breakdown:
• Each snowfall up to 4 inches would cost $376
• Each snowfall between 4 and 8 inches would cost $578
• Each snowfall over 8 inches would cost $688
• Each application of sand would cost $188
Will this cause an increase in my taxes?
No, it will not.
The Supervisor said this at the December 30 public information session: “I can say definitively it is possible to do this project with no increase tax payers both for the $500,000 match and for the annual maintenance.” (Fast forward to about 39:30 in the recording.)
The Supervisor elaborated: “Over the last few years, sales tax revenues have gone up, and we have been using those monies for things like walking trails in the park, our match part of it, our match part of the new playground, and the new community center. And so if we kept the budget — the taxes — exactly as they are now, without doing other big projects in the park and other things we could potentially do, we could build this project with no increase to the Town budget.”
And there’s a special election?
The Town Board decided that residents should make the final choice about this project and set a special election for January 21, 2025.
It will be open to all voters registered in New Lebanon.
A YES is a vote for the Town to carry out this project and for the Town to have the choice to pay for this project by using funds from our regular budget, by issuing a bond, or both. A no is a vote for the Town not to carry out this specific project.
You can cast your ballot in-person on January 21, 2025, from 8am till 8pm at the Immaculate Conception Meeting Hall (at 732 US Highway 20, New Lebanon, NY, 12125).
If you still need to register to vote, you can do that online here until January 10. After that, your only opportunity is a special in-person opportunity for getting registered. The Town will hold that registration event on January 11, 2025, from 4pm till 8pm at Town Hall.
Can I vote absentee?
Absentee voting is definitely an option.
Election security is important, so there are three steps you’ll need to complete:
(1) You’ll need to request an application. Because this is a special election, you can do that by visiting the Town Clerk in person or calling 518–794–8888. Please do this asap!
(2) Once you have your application, you’ll need to fill out the application and return it. If you’re in town, you can hand it directly to the Clerk by January 20. If you’re mailing your application, the Clerk must receive it by January 14. Again, please do this asap!
(3) Once you have your ballot, you’ll need to complete it and get it back to the Clerk. You’re probably sending it via mail. Regardless of how you transmit the thing, though, the Clerk must receive it by 5pm on January 21, 2025.