Albany Bicycle Coalition

Albany Bicycle Coalition sent the following email letter to the Town of Bethlehem and NYS Dept. of Transportation (DOT) on March 12, 2025. The area under discussion can be seen in Google satellite view.

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The new Blessing Road multi-use path is scheduled to be extended this spring, to the Slingerlands Bypass Route 85 traffic circle. We applaud the work of the Town of Bethlehem to build the multi-use path along the length of windy and narrow Blessing Road, which will separate pedestrians, joggers, and cyclists from obvious traffic dangers. However, Albany Bicycle Coalition has some serious concerns about the safety of cyclists and pedestrians who reach the southern end of the path and then attempt to continue further. If the path simply comes to a sudden end at the traffic circle, leaving users to fend for themselves, it would be worse than the Watervliet multi-use path at 23rd St which crosses the I-787 ramps. In October 2024, a young woman cyclist was struck and killed trying to cross a ramp there. Whatever design decisions are made now may determine whether a similar tragedy happens here in Bethlehem.

A) Traffic from Albany approaches the traffic circle at 55+ mph. Although the posted speed limit drops to 45 mph a few hundred feet before the circle, this is still far in excess of what cyclists and pedestrians are accustomed to. Traffic is very heavy at all times of day.
B) The speed limit from Maher Road to Blessing Road is 45 mph throughout. In reality, speeding through a traffic circle at 45 mph is inherently unsafe.
C) Although there are small yellow “15 mph” advisory signs near the circle, they are not prominent. Based on observing actual motorist behavior (absent oncoming traffic), they are either ignored, or not even seen.
D) Crosswalk markings within the traffic circle are obscured by the “YIELD” text plus large directional arrows in every lane. It’s a visual jumble; to motor vehicles, the crosswalks are essentially invisible.
E) The design isn’t a typical “roundabout.” The route from Delmar to Albany is mainly straight. Combined with two lanes throughout the circle, this encourages drivers to speed right through and even accelerate as they pass over the crosswalk.
F) Bethlehem motorists bound for Albany are mainly concerned with avoiding other cars. When accelerating out of the circle, there is not enough time to notice people using the crosswalk; and there’s not enough space for a vehicle to stop without being rear-ended.
G) Driving to Albany, the circle has two lanes with the option to go straight; they quickly merge to one lane after passing over the crosswalk. A distracting high-speed merge dance occurs exactly where drivers need to pay attention to the crosswalk. Current signage approaching the circle from Delmar tells drivers that both lanes can be used for Albany – which exacerbates the merge situation.
H) There are no traffic control signals of any kind, anywhere in the area.

There are numerous design improvements that could help reduce the dangers. Here is a suggested list, ordered from basic and cheap (lower speed limits), to long term (a new bike-pedestrian bridge).
1) 30 mph speed limit approaching the traffic circle. Most drivers – but not all – voluntarily slow down. New speed limits would thus not be an imposition. It would simply require a few new signs, and approval by DOT (NYS Department of Transportation). This is also key for options #4 through #7 below.
2) Revise the lane signage approaching from Delmar. Left lane should say: Blessing Road Only. Right lane should say: Route 85 Only. Currently, Albany-bound cars jockey for position in both exit lanes – which makes it basically impossible to pay attention to the crosswalk. Proper signage would encourage merging in advance.
3) Relocate pavement’s directional arrows and/or “Yield” text. Currently the crosswalks are functionally invisible to drivers in a standard sedan; arrows, crosswalk, and “Yield” are so crammed together that visually they are indistinguishable.
4) Modify the exit lanes heading for Albany. Currently the exit from the circle is a straightaway, over the crosswalk to the 55mph zone. Instead, the exit lanes could be redesigned to have enough angle/curvature to discourage speeds over 30 mph. This may also require increasing the overall diameter of the circle. Those steps could even make it possible to eliminate the left exit lane bound for Albany, so that all merging takes place prior to the circle and within it. Other traffic calming methods could be employed here as well, such as a raised crosswalk or textured pavement.
5) Extend the safety island further northeast and move the east crosswalk further away from the circle.  Staggered crosswalks are an engineering design that addresses the queuing space and driver attention problems of crosswalks at traffic circle exits.
6) Pedestrian-activated flashing crossing lights. These “Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons” (RRFB) are another standard approach when multi-use paths cross a major traffic artery. Note that this would only be effective if posted speed limit signs were lowered (item #1 above). As noted above in “C,” the small 15 mph advisory signs are not effective; only a standard black-on-white rectangular speed limit sign will get drivers’ attention.
7) Dynamic speed display signs. “Your Speed” electronic displays have been shown effective in slowing drivers down (e.g. NHTSA report). This would be done in conjunction with lower speed limits (item #1 above). Such signs could be installed permanently, or at least during the transition period.

Any of the above would help address an inherently unsafe situation in the short term. Ultimately however, the following should be the long-range plan:
8) Dedicated bike-pedestrian bridge. Precedents exist for such a bridge: (1) bike-ped bridge over Albany Shaker Road near the airport (Google Maps Street View); (2) the well-known rail trail bridge over New Scotland Road in Slingerlands.  A bridge would not be feasible by this summer. However, it would be transformational for the entire area, and thus deserves ongoing effort.
* A bridge would enable a truly-safe route – for all ages and abilities.
* It would be key to a long-distance cycling network – something the Town, County, and CRTC have worked towards for years. It would instantly supply the missing link for a long-distance cycling route from southwest Albany, all the way to the Albany County Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail, for both commuters and recreation (potential route on Google Maps).
(Details: begin at Russell Road; continue along the Blessing Road path; cross Route 85 on the new bridge; continue over an existing bike-pedestrian bridge south of the circle, which also accesses the boat launch recreation area; along a gravel road to New Scotland Road; New Scotland Road to Thackeray Drive; local streets to the upcoming Cherry Avenue multi-use path; conclude at Albany County Rail Trail.)

Do the Town of Bethlehem and DOT have existing plans for making the traffic circle area safe?
Are funds currently allocated for implementing safety features?
What do you think of the potential design improvements that we suggested above?

Every November, Albany Bicycle Coalition participates in the World Day of Remembrance for Victims of Traffic Violence. We meet in front of City Hall to commemorate bicyclists and pedestrians who lost their lives in our region. Our hope is to avoid adding any further names to that list.

Please feel free to contact us to further discuss options and plans.
Ed Brennan, President Albany Bicycle Coalition
Chester Bennett, vice president
Mark Maniak, secretary
Glenn Sandberg, designer CapitalNYBikeMap.com