Century Boulevard redevelopment session focuses on parking options

MILLERTON — Residents along with nearby neighbors of Century Boulevard received a second presentation of plans to redevelop the village thoroughfare.

Much of the meeting, held on Saturday, March 15 at the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex, focused on parking options that were presented by Brandee Nelson, a senior project manager for Tighe & Bond of Rhinebeck.

The engineering-services firm is preparing a feasibility study for the Village Trustees. Funding for the project has been received from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Northeast Dutchess Fund and from Hudson River Valley Greenway.

Trustees David Sherman and Matt Herzog kicked off the meeting, noting that one of the goals of the 2018 Millerton Pedestrian Plan is to create a design concept for Century Boulevard.

Key recommendations from the Dutchess County Transportation Council call for centerline striping, delineated parking spaces, crosswalks, sidewalks and lighting, along with tree plantings.

Nelson presented options that showed possible parking patterns that were envisioned based on street width as one determining factor. Century Boulevard, which used to be a freight yard for an east-west railroad, ranges from 70 to 93 feet in width and is 1,000 feet long. In the past, it was called ‘Parking Street.’

“There is no defined pedestrian infrastructure,” Nelson said to the group. At a first session held on Feb. 1, the Annex room was filled. Last Saturday, only a handful of residents showed.

At the west end of the boulevard, Dutchess County is proposing changes that will be part of a Maple Avenue sidewalk widening project to give it an accessibility update.

Much of the meeting was devoted to debating the pros and cons of perpendicular versus 30-degree angled parking. The discussion also labored over the expected quantity of parking needed by the Village.

Perpendicular parking could provide up to 151 parking spaces, while angular parking options up to 68 spaces.

A back and forth ensued with Nelson, residents and some of the trustees, including Mayor Jenn Najdek, about the options. Maintenance costs also were targeted in the discussion, because the wider the boulevard the more expense falls to the Village, and the same is true of maintaining green spaces that include trees, shrubbery or even wood chips.

Public comment also drew a bead on the different parking needs on either end of the boulevard, as well as the unique needs of the Millerton Fire Department and the post office.

Plans call for retaining the EV charger, currently located east of the Mane Street Salon.

Consensus seemed to emerge that angular parking seems to make sense, in part because it obviates the need when backing out to enter the oncoming lane. A second common ground seemed to emerge with the notion that a sidewalk should be located on the south side of the boulevard.

Next steps include plans to have the Village Board talk about what might be a preferred approach at its March 24 meeting so that Tighe & Bond can prepare a concept to present to the trustees in April.