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3 letters (Town, County, State) saying trucks cannot be restricted on Dutchess Co. 29.
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Town of East Fishkill
Dutchess County, New York
370 Route 376,
Hopewell Junction, New York 12533
(914) 221-9191

Peter Idema III
Town Supervisor
(914) 221-4303
November 4, 1998
Mr. & Mrs. F. Robbins
39 Carpenter Road
Hopewell Junction, New York 12533

SUBJECT: Carpenter Road
REFERENCE: Your letter of November 2, 1998
Our meeting of October 20, 1998

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Robbins,

As I explained during our meeting, Carpenter Road is a County Road. The Town, therefore with the exception of local policing, has no authority over such items as use, speed limits, etc.

The information you request is contained in NYS State Law. The Town does not have the resource or responsibility to do research for private parties.

Thank you for your letter.

Sincerely,
[signed]
Peter Idema III
Town Supervisor
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[EXCERPT]
Dutchess County Public Works
William R. Steinhaus County Executive
Paul L. Cassillo, P.E. Conmiissioner of Public Works
22 Market Street Poughkeepsie New York 12601
(914) 486-2121
Fax (914) 486-2099
December 3, 1998
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Robbins
39 Carpenter Road
Hopewell Junction, New York 12533

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Robbins

Your letter to County Executive William R. Steinhaus describing traffic conditions on Carpenter Road; County Route 29 has been referred to my office for response. The safety of county roads is of primary concern to the Department of Public Works. Letters from concerned citizens such as you are appreciated. …
-Increased Traffic Volumes

As you are aware, County Route 29 is, and has been a connector road for traffic traversing between NYS Rte. 52 and the Parkway to points north. Unfortunately what in the past were essentially residential roads have along with the growth throughout Dutchess County become collector roads with significant increases in traffic. This traffic not only manifests itself as passenger traffic but also as commercial / truck traffic. Although a town can control commercial traffic on town roads via the use of weight limits, this is not the case with County roads. Under the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, Dutchess County cannot legally post its roads to restrict traffic, except in those cases where a substandard bridge structure or road structure are involved.

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Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 13:54:03 -0500
From: "Robert Dennison" <RDENNISON@gw.dot.state.ny.us>
CC:
"Deb Kissane" <DKISSANE@gw.dot.state.ny.us>,
<JSHANAHAN@gw.dot.state.ny.us>,
"Tom Boehm" <TBOEHM@gw.dot.state.ny.us>

Mr. Robbins

Commissioner Boardman has asked me to respond to your e mail to him and because the Taconic is a Regional issue we will be your contact point in the future. Please direct future correspondence to Ms. Jean Shanahan, who is located in our office in Poughkeepsie.

Restriction of truck traffic on a local highway( not a State Highway ) is a local responsibility. That said, any restriction of a public highway to a class of highway users must be based on sound reason. It is possible to limit the weight of trucks using a highway if there are features that can not carry a legal load or there are clearance restrictions that create a hazard.

Local governments must be careful when limiting the use of a public highway by a class of highway users. It can be construed to be an act of discrimination and may not be sustained if challenged. Basically people have a right to use public highways.

Mr. Cassillo is correct that the NYSDOT plays a role in setting speed limits and that is for two purposes. First to assure that a reasonable and safe speed limit is set and second to assure that speed traps are not established on the public highway system. Limiting truck traffic is not an area that the NYSDOT is responsible for unless there is a bridge that is unsafe, which is not the case on Carpenter Road.

The Commissioners Task Force on the Taconic will be releasing information in the near future. I hope that will answer some of your questions and concerns. We will be implementing the recommendations from the Task Force and I assure you that we will keep it an open process. Everyone who has an interest will be given the opportunity to be heard. Please feel free to contact Ms. Shanahan with your concerns in the future . RAD


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