A cut too deep: Residents say ditches are dangerous

By Gail Peckler-Dziki~Correspondent

A small group or Randall residents who own full-time or permanent homes in The Knolls spoke up about their concerns over the results of a recent road and ditch repair project done in their subdivision. They believe ditches were cut too deep and now pose safety issues.

On Feb. 30 Randall residents voted to approve a $3 million road project. According to Town Chairman Bob Stoll, Randall has 23 miles of road and 30 percent of those miles need to be rebuilt. The rest requires various levels of repair to get the roads up to shape so they can be maintained with regular maintenance.

The roads in the Knolls, the roads were milled, or ground down, and then overlay or new road material was placed on it. In addition, roadside ditches were cut to match the original depth of the ditches.

Phoebe Naborowski said the ditches were cut so deep on 92nd Street that drivers face the possibility of rolling off the road and into the ditch. “You really made a gully when that ditch was dug,” she said during the citizen comments portion of the July 12 regular board meeting. “I looked the word gully up to make sure I am using it correctly. I am.”

She said that the water would come down to that section of road now and the neighbor at the end has no culvert. “He has never had trouble with water before,” she said, “and now he will.”

Becky Mandolini said the culvert under her driveway was crushed during the project. “And I have a buildable lot next to my home that we can no longer access. We used that for larger gathering. The ditch cuts through it now.”

She explained that when the culvert was in place, the ground was tapered down from it. “It worked fine. Now I am concerned that I will have water trouble.”

“There was standing water in my front yard after that last heavy spring rain,” she continued. “I never had water there before and my front door is only seven inches from the ground. We are not always here and that will be an issue if we get flooded.”

Mandolini also expressed concern about dangers at night when it is dark. “You can’t see the end of the road. Someone could drive right off the road and end up in the ditch. I hate to think about what will happen when those ditches are covered with snow and a snowmobiler can’t see how deep they are.”

Debbie Kelly, one of four houses on 92nd Street between 392nd and 393 rd Avenue, expressed similar concerns.

“You can stand a bike up in the ditch and the handlebars won’t be flush with the top.”

“If someone drives into the ditch,” she continued, “they will need a tow truck to get out. If someone riding a bike ends up there, that person will be pretty banged up.”

“This is a small residential street,” she said. “There is no room for people to park on the side of the road when they visit. There is no shoulder at all.”

“This is a dangerous eyesore that has depreciated home values in my subdivision. The roots of many of the pine trees have been cut into and we don’t know if they will survive.”

Both Mandolino and Kelly expressed concern about maintaining the grass in such a deep ditch. Mandolino said that her landscaper would not be able to maintain the grass. Kelly said her bill for landscaping would go up.”

All three women said that there was nothing supporting the asphalt, since the ditches were right next to the roads. One resident said that since the deep ditches were cut, he could no longer allow his one-year-old to play in the front or be on the driveway for fear of the child falling into the ditch. Residents said they would like to see the ditches filled in again.

Since the comments were made during citizen comments and the item was not on the agenda, the board could not engage in prolonged discussion nor make any decisions.

Supervisor Randy Kaskin, chairman of public works committee, did comment during his report that if any funds were left after the road project was complete, it would be used to revisit the project.

“There were some ditches that were over-cut on 93rd Street and those were rectified,” he said. “We will make checking our 92nd Street a priority.”

In a later interview, Stoll said that there were no shoulders on subdivision roads. “The areas are seeded and when the grass grows, the grass will help support the road and lessen the depth of the ditches. The plan is to use any leftover funds to make sure that the ditches were cut to original depths and not over cut.”

 

Charging non-residents to use Lakeside Park

Also during the citizen comment portion of the meting, former town supervisor Ken Mangold requested that the board consider charging non-residents to use Lakeside Park, on Powers Lake.

“Randall residents pay for the upkeep on that beach and if you don’t get out there by 9 a.m. on a weekend,” Mangold said, “You are out of luck. People from surrounding areas flock to that beach because it is very nice and it’s free.”

“I think it should be open to everyone, but I know other municipalities charge for beach use,” he continued. “The town should charge for use by non-residents. It would help cover the cost to maintain it and maybe some funds to be set aside for future enhancements. I would like to see this topic the next town board agenda.”

Stoll commented that Mangold had apparently been thinking about this for a while and asked Mangold if he could come up with a concept plan. Mangold said he would have one to Stoll within a week.

 


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