VALATIE–On the recommendation of the Town Planning Board Chair Peter Haemmerlein, the Town Board plans to make two streets in Niverville one-way and ask the county to reduce the speed limit on a section of County Route 28.

Mr. Haemmerlein attended the Town Board meeting on Monday night to ask for the changes due to projects that the Planning Board had approved. The Planning Board okayed the expansion of CaroVail Fertilizer’s building in Niverville, and Mr. Haemmerlein said that as part of the project, trucks that pick up fertilizer at the site will now exit near Lake Street, a small street off of county Route 28. He suggested that the board make Lake and Church streets one-way to deal with the traffic. Mr. Haemmelein said that that intersection was already a “hard situation” and a bit tricky.

Board member Patsy Leader, who lives in Niverville, said that residents would support the change. “It is getting worse and worse and worse,” she said of the intersection, even though CaroVail hasn’t yet made its changes.

At the December 14 meeting, the board passed a motion to make the two streets one-way. Town Attorney Andy Howard said he would be contacting the county to make sure that there were no issues with making the change since the streets intersect the county route. Mr. Howard said that along as the county does not have a problem with the change, the streets could be one-way next month.

Mr. Haemmerlein also said that the Planning Board had worked on some projects on Route 28 and had thought that the street’s speed limit had been reduced to 45 mph. The route is posted at 45 mph outside of the hamlet of Niverville but then the limit rises to 55 mph after Rapp Road to the intersection with state Route 9.

Mr. Haemmerlein pointed out all the residential development along the road and said that 55 mph is “pretty fast” for that part of the road. “Especially since Route 9 has gone down to 50 mph,” he told the board.

Since Route 28 is a county road, the board passed a motion to request the reduction in the speed limit from the county.

The next regular board meeting will be Monday, January 11 at 7 p.m. at the Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building.

To contact reporter Emilia Teasdale email