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We look forward to welcoming our City Council Members to our September 26th meeting at 7:00 PM in the Steinmetz Park Multipurpose Room to address a recent letter submitted on behalf of our association to the City Council. Let's take this opportunity to listen and learn from our elected officials and share our concerns and ideas for improving the quality of life for our neighbors and City.
Dear City Council members,
As residents involved in the Goose Hill neighborhood and with concerns for the entire city, we wish to bring to your attention some issues that need to be addressed in next year's city budget. Some of these you are aware of already and some may be new to you. All involve improving the quality of life in Schenectady and some also address public safety concerns. We wish to sit down to discuss these items further as you develop the budget. These are not necessarily listed in order of importance or in order in which they are likely to be completed.
1. Parks: The method for budgeting for parks needs to reflect the diversity of our parks. City parks range from Central Park (huge, with many amenities) to Carrie Street Park (a small park on a deadend street). Upkeep and improvements vary tremendously from one to another. Each park should have its own budget line, reflecting how much it costs to run each park. Although it is likely out of date, the 2018 report of the Recreation Advisory Commission detailed needs for each park, as well as needs that exist in every park.
In the Northside, the Goose Hill Neighborhood Association received a Schenectady Foundation Thriving Neighborhoods Challenge grant for a master plan for improvements to Carrie Street Park. That master plan has been completed; however, we wish to implement the elements proposed in the plan. For this we need some engineering work to be done a site survey and an estimate to determine the cost of doing this work. While we are willing to look for grant money for the improvements-walking pathways, splash pad, toddler play area, etc-we need professional expertise to determine costs. It would be extremely helpful to have this in the city budget to improve this park.
2. City Cleanup: Cleanup days are held annually by some individual neighborhoods. A citywide clean up, twice per year, with a budget for supplies and equipment would make the city look better and might foster pride in how neighborhoods look.
Part of the cleanup effort could be the placement of more trash cans around the city. Some neighborhoods-Stockade, Goose Hill for example-have paid for and installed trash cans. In Goose Hill, our cans were purchased with our first Thriving Neighborhoods Challenge grant. We decorated our cans with artwork done by Schenectady 3rd graders, on the theme of clean neighborhoods and the importance of not littering. These cans are very distinctive, so when on 3 occasions one of our cans showed up outside the neighborhood it was very evident (at Vale Park, MiSci and Riverside Park). If there were more cans around the city, moving cans from one neighborhood to another probably would not happen.
3. Pedestrian safety: For improved pedestrian safety, signalized automatic warning lights are needed at the bike path crossings at Seneca Street and Maxon Rd. Extension. These are busy streets, and cyclists and walkers crossing need protection.
Existing cross walk signals throughout the city need attention, because most of them do not work properly. You may push the button, but nothing happens, and they certainly do not change on their own in synchrony with the vehicle signals. Think of being a pedestrian in a big city like New York. The traffic light changes for cars to move; the pedestrian walk signal also changes, indicating pedestrians can cross. Why can this not be the case in Schenectady? This works properly at very few intersections. The age of the city's signals cannot be an excuse. The Nott/Rosa/Wendell intersection by Ellis Hospital has brand new signals-and they do not work this way.
The effort to lower the speed limit on most city streets has gotten a lot of attention and must be continued. It does not seem as if more study is necessary. Other cities are doing this.
4. Street trees, island maintenance: Recently the city contracted with an arborist. The arborist is to provide expertise on tree planting and more importantly, maintenance. Tree maintenance has been sorely lacking in Schenectady for many years. Tree planting has primarily been the responsibility of ReTree Schenectady, a volunteer group. The hope was that the hiring of a contract arborist would result in a maintenance and planting plan. What is the arborist doing in this regard? Is the contract being renewed? And what is the extent of the work contained in the contract? We must not forget about our city trees, as they provide beauty and much needed shade on our streets. There are many trees on the streets and the islands that need more consistent maintenance.
These are issues important to us as city residents and need to be addressed in the city's budget.
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