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| Photo: Virginia Martin |
The new stop sign and flexi-posts for westbound traffic on Warren Street are much needed improvements for what is a dangerous intersection for pedestrians and drivers. Stand at the corner of Park and Warren for just a minute or two, and it becomes clear just how many near misses there are between drivers turning right from Warren and pedestrians looking to cross Park. The stop sign, along with the daylighting of the crosswalk on the Diner side of Warren, will give all street users the opportunity to move safely through the intersection. I look forward to continuing to work with the Department of Public Works and Hudson Police Department to improve street safety across the city.
Gossips learned from Rob Perry, DPW Superintendent, why the stop sign was positioned where it was:
The sign would not fit on the sidewalk. Between the streetlight, the RRFB [rectangular rapid flashing beacon] for the crosswalk, and the NYSDOT signage for the truck route, there was no place to install the sign and have it be visible. . . . Given the numerous conflicts, ideally the sidewalk would be demolished and a bump-out would have been installed to extend closer to the travel lane. But that would be a significant project.
COPYRIGHT 2026 CAROLE OSTERINK
Bravo Mayor Ferris & DPW team.
ReplyDeleteFollowing through on promises, making life easier for all, especially stroller parents and less mobile residents. Great ROI.
Next step, re-routing the truck route around dense urban areas.
This is good.
ReplyDeleteWould also like to see some stop signs and daylighting at Front & Warren. People come speeding up the hill from Front St in both directions and people (even cars from Warren) can’t see when it’s safe to cross to Promenade Park and the playground.
"Daylighting?" Really? We're just going to allow that?!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think it means in this context? At a guess, they’re probably going to remove the parking spaces on either side of the crosswalk in front of the diner. That way pedestrians aren’t blocked from drivers’ views (and vice versa). Why would we not “allow” that?
DeleteI think John's comment was a little tongue in cheek. Given how people in Hudson love to fuss about parking and there are some who seem to think parking fees and fines are the revenue stream that's going to balance the budget, losing even two parking spaces is cause for protest.
DeleteI’m not that deep, Carole — I’m simply pointing out that daylight isn’t a verb nor should it be.
DeleteCredit where it's due: thank you to Mayor Ferris, DPW, and the Hudson Police Department for acting at Warren and Park Place. The stop sign, flexi-posts, and daylighting are real improvements at an intersection that has needed them for years.
ReplyDeleteBut the larger challenge remains. HPD's traffic trailer study this June recorded thousands of vehicles exceeding 25 mph on Warren Street, and hundreds above 30. That data doesn't distinguish a passenger car from a tractor-trailer, and the difference matters: a truck at 30 mph on a narrow, pedestrian-heavy street with no painted centerline is a different order of risk entirely.
And infrastructure alone won't close that gap. Within a day of installation, a driver was already posting rather flippantly on social media about having driven straight through the new stop sign, while numerous other commenters dismissed the safety improvements as unnecessary or a waste. That reaction itself is telling. Signs and posts can only do so much without visible, sustained enforcement.
So, thank you again. This is progress! Now let's keep going - more pedestrian-safety improvements, speed-limit signage, meaningful enforcement, and serious attention to the truck route. At the end of the day, Hudson's streets need to serve the people who live, work, walk, and visit here - not just the traffic passing through.
Utter nonsense. There is only one solution to the truck issue at that intersection and that is moving the truck route out of the city. But that’s actual work that requires actual leadership. Two capacities that seem to elude the current executive.
DeleteJohn, we agree that the through-truck route needs to be moved out of the city. But calling everything else “utter nonsense” misses the point. Large through trucks are a major problem on Warren Street, but they aren’t the only problem. Cars speed, blow stop signs, and make dangerous turns - and we recently had two cars drag racing up Warren Street on the evening of July 13. The new stop sign, flexi-posts, daylighting, speed monitoring, and increased attention to enforcement are progress. Moving the through-truck route will take sustained work with multiple levels of government. In the meantime, I’m not interested in dismissing improvements that make people safer today simply because they don’t solve every problem at once. We can reroute through trucks and slow speeding vehicles and make our intersections safer. These aren’t mutually exclusive goals.
DeleteMy point: it’s not an improvement. It won’t make anyone obey any law. All it does is narrow the street. And serves as a sop to those who find any change “progress.” It is, therefore, utter nonsense.
DeleteAs for drag racing and the e-bikes and the mindless who simply stop their vehicles in traffic to gawk at a storefront, that’s an enforcement issue. Seen any Hudson cops on patrol in a car, on a bike or on foot recently? Me either.
Meanwhile, we have these senseless "No turn on Red" signs that clog traffic flow, waste energy, and add huge amounts of CO2 emisions to the air with stopped cars. No turn on red at 3 in the morning at 4th and State? What a waste.
ReplyDeleteJust you wait… they’re talking about doing it citywide.
DeleteActually, no. It was discovered that state law permits a citywide ban on right on red only in New York City. Here in Hudson, we can prohibit it only at selected intersections. I believe they are still trying to decide which ones.
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