How To "Improve" A Dangerous Intersection By Making It More Dangerous, Hudson Style

It's new.  But is it improved?

It has been about 5 months since the improvements to the intersection of Fairview and Green Streets, a.k.a. the Stewart's corner, were completed. The improvements were made as a result of the city's deal with Stewart's to allow them to expand their store and gas station. Changes were needed primarily to make the busy intersection pedestrian-accessible (forget about friendly!), so crosswalks and associated pedestrian signals were installed. 

The 8 (!) new traffic lights on a long horizontal pole are all controlled by a camera on the pole to increase traffic flow efficiency and cut down on wait times at red lights, especially for turning vehicles. There is a lot more stuff in the intersection for drivers and pedestrians to pay attention to, especially overhead, some of it being superfluous and confusing. There is also something important missing that existed prior to the changes which made the intersection safer.

As you may recall, things got off to a rocky start in August at the new and improved Stewart's corner when one direction of vehicle traffic had some unforeseen issues, requiring, for lack of a better word, reimprovements.  More work was done and more time was taken before improvements to the intersection were, supposedly, truly completed.  That was then, what about now?  How is traffic flowing?  Is the intersection safer overall for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians?  Have all the kinks been worked out?  Let's take a look at where things stand now at the city's busiest intersection to see how the improvements and reimprovements are faring.  (I have driven through the new intersection several times, as well as stood and observed traffic flow and utilized each pedestrian crosswalk and their signals.  Two of my experiences with the crosswalks have been nothing shorty of frightening).

The Stewart's corner is still a 4-way intersection (with the same two Stewart's exit and entrance points), with the only traffic flow change being made for eastbound Green Street traffic.  Where there used to be two lanes for that traffic, one being a left turn only lane, there is now just one lane for both vehicles headed east and those wanting to turn onto Fairview.  There are two lights for that one lane, which can mislead drivers into winding up on the wrong side of the double yellow lines as they wait to turn left onto Fairview.  Some drivers wanting to turn refuse to accept the reality that there is no longer a left turn lane for them, and the configuration of the traffic light lined up on the left side of the double yellow lines aids them in their conviction.  Even newcomers can be tricked.  Why would there be two lights for eastbound traffic if there is just one lane of traffic?  Might as well line up in front of that light!  Strike one. 

Why two traffic lights for one lane?  Only
the one on the left offers a green arrow for
 left turns.

Ahh, Hudson!  We have a problem!
(Notice the traffic light directly in front of the 
white car waiting in the wrong lane!)

Westbound traffic on Green Street (headed into town or turning onto Fairview) is still confined to one lane, but now with two traffic lights to choose from at the intersection. One of those lights hovers over the other lane of traffic, just like the opposing single lane of traffic is presented with.  Around the corner and coming down the hill, northbound Fairview Avenue traffic also still has one lane and two traffic lights. That leaves us with southbound traffic on Fairview. Were any changes or improvements made there?

One narrow lane, two lights, no yellow lines

There is not one NO TURN ON RED sign
at the Stewart's corner, the city's busiest
intersection.

There are still two lanes for southbound Fairview Avenue traffic headed into the intersection -- one for vehicles turning right onto Green Street headed into town and the other for vehicles continuing up Fairview or turning left onto 23B headed east out of town.  Prior to the improvements, there was just one traffic light for both lanes, with a green arrow for drivers in the right turn lane.  Now there are two traffic lights, one for each lane of traffic.  The traffic light on the right -- for the turn lane -- contains 5 lights.  This includes 1 each of red, green and yellow circles, as well as a yellow and a green arrow.  Drivers can turn on a green or yellow light and on a green or yellow arrow, even when the red light is illuminated.  And, as it turns out, drivers can turn when the light is red and there is no green or yellow arrow visible!  Are you feeling dizzy yet?

If the traffic light on the right is for the turning lane,
why is there a red circle and a green arrow
simultaneously?  Stop and go?

Can you turn right on the red light on the right?
Yes, you may.

Lots more to pay attention to now, even with
 one missing sign!

As drivers may recall, and as the picture below shows, prior to the changes being made, turning right off of Fairview onto Green was not allowed if the light was red and there was no green arrow illuminated.  A posted NO TURN ON RED sign below the traffic light made that clear.  And this was a smart thing to have done since -- OBVIOUSLY -- no one should be attempting to turn onto Green Street while Green Street truck route traffic is flowing. 

The former traffic light and sign for southbound Fairview traffic.
(The other lights above, which we have now,
were not yet functional).  Picture taken in July, courtesy
of Goggle maps, while work was being done.

So where was that NO TURN ON RED sign moved to when the reconfiguration of the traffic lights took place? Common sense says it should still be found next to the traffic light that drivers in the turn lane are looking at.  Or, at the very least, it should be found somewhere nearby on the new horizontal pole holding all the lights and signs. Placing it at the curb wouldn't make any sense. I'm no professional traffic planner, but common sense dictates that if traffic flow for all four directions through the intersection has essentially remained the same after the improvements were made, the NO TURN ON RED rule should remain in effect and there needs to be a conspicuous sign indicating the rule. You know, to make the intersection as safe or safer than it was before the so-called safety improvements to the intersection were made.

Well, guess what? Last fall, the contractor working on the Stewart's corner project took down the old NO TURN ON RED sign and hid it somewhere. That's right, there is no longer a NO TURN ON RED sign for the only right turn lane at the city's busiest intersection, which happens to be our most dangerous intersection for pedestrians. If the omission of the NO TURN ON RED sign was intentional, someone needs their head examined.

A vehicle taking a right on red(s).  Why not?

And so, what you have now at Sewart's corner are vehicles, including enormous and long trucks, regularly taking a right on red when they should not be and when they were not allowed to as recently as 6 months ago.  This is known as an "improvement" to the crazy Stewart's corner.  Strike two!

One common council member raised this issue during at least two recent informal council meetings, trying her best to correct this glaring, inexcusable error.  That story will be told on HUDseen soon, and it just may make you cringe.  And laugh!  It never ends!

One block away, at 23B & 66 along the 
Greenport/Hudson border, at a similarly
busy 4-way intersection, but with  
 4 NO TURN ON RED signs!

The Stewart's Shop is located at 13 Fairview Avenue, with access points on both sides of the corner, creating a true intersection shitshow that no so-called "improvements" will ever erase. During the month of November 2023, HPD responded to 5 accidents there, referring to the location of the accidents as either "13 Fairview" or "Fairview Street @ Green Street."  One of those accidents was a hit & run.  And two months prior, someone forgot to replace the NO TURN ON RED sign for the dangerous intersection's only right turn lane. Go figure!

Well, if the city has any interest, how might they install (reinstall?) a NO TURN ON RED sign where it will be easily seen on that crowded sign-and-light-filled horizontal pole?  What company, person or department could, would or should get this done, and get it done correctly, like this year?

No longer available to correct 
his mistake

Cross Peter Bujanow off the list.  Our once helpful and available former DPW commissioner was the project manager for the Stewart's corner project, so he is ultimately to blame for the missing NO TURN ON RED sign.  I have no doubt that he would have gotten a new sign up by now if he were still our DPW commissioner.  Unfortunately for us, our mayor apparently didn't appreciate Bujanow's approach to his work, and so the commissioner was sacked weeks after he had claimed that the Stewart's corner improvements were finished but before he had a chance to notice, or be told about, the omission of the NO TURN ON RED sign that was made on his watch.

How about Robert Perry's DPW?  Are they going to find an appropriately-sized NO TURN ON RED sign, then redirect all traffic in the intersection for 3 or 4 hours while they get somebody up in a lift bucket to move the signs on the pole out of the way to make room for the missing sign so that it can be installed where it should have been properly installed 7 months ago?  Don't count on it!  

Well, I guess that leaves just the contractor who made all the "improvements" to the Stewart's corner, including removing old signs and installing new ones.  But who at City Hall is going to get the contractor to return to the Stewart's corner so they can be shown the mistake that was made that needs to be fixed as soon as possible?  Could that person be Kamal Johnson?  Or could it possibly be our new DPW Commissioner who the mayor supposedly recently appointed and who he hasn't bothered to formerly introduce to the public or the council?  Will he be taking over where Bujanow left off? 

According to the city's website, Peter Bujanow's successor is someone named Jason Foster.  I'm pretty sure Mr. Foster lives fairly close to the Stewart's corner, and it's highly likely that he drives through the "improved" intersection regularly.  One wonders if he has noticed the missing NO TURN ON RED sign there (or taken advantage of its omission) and whether he has any feelings one way or another about the new traffic pattern thanks to the missing sign.  How would we ever know?  

Strike three?

The white car stopped at the red to allow the 
pedestrian to cross as the pedestrian signal
indicated it was safe to do. Then...

...with the light still red, the car crept through
the crosswalk...

...and took a right turn while traffic from the left
had a green light.  The next car also took a
right on red.  Neither car was doing anything 
illegal or "wrong."