The Hunter Town Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to authorize Supervisor Sean Mahoney to send a letter to Greene County asking to lower speed limits on a section of Platte Clove Road from 40 miles per hour to 30.

The vote followed a nearly 20-minute discussion on safety concerns on the roughly 9.6 mile road, which stretches from Blue Mountain Road in Saugerties, where it is known as West Saugerties Road, to state Route 23A in Tannersville. The letter asks county officials to lower the limit from the top of Platte Clove Road to the Byrne Road Bridge. 

Platte Clove Road, also known as the Back Mountain Road or Greene County Route 16, is a narrow, two-lane road climbing along the Platte Clove’s north wall. It’s the only route through the clove. 

The section of the road heading up the mountain is closed seasonally, generally from November until late April or early May.

The vote was spurred by a comment from Town Councilperson David Kukle, who said a 40 miles per hour limit was unsafe given the amount of homes in the hamlet of Platte Clove and the narrowness of certain parts of the road. He also expressed concern over larger trucks and campers using the road, which is prohibited. 

“I’ve been spending a lot of time in Platte Clove,” he said. “From Prediger Road out, for sure, 40 miles an hour is not a safe speed. There’s lots and lots of folks that live along that road.”

Kukle said he has noticed drivers speeding through the road, which narrows in sections near the intersection with Prediger Road.

 “If you don’t think about it, you don’t look at it, and you look down at a comfortable speed, you find yourself driving 30,” he said. “Your body leads you to it. But the folks that are traveling through there are whipping through there.”

Police Sgt. Robert Haines said his department frequently deals with large vehicles improperly using the road. 

“The other day I happened to be out there,” he said. “I don’t know what he was thinking but a guy with a crew cab long bed pickup truck and a 38-foot camper trailer showed up back there and I had to turn him around.” 

“People just don’t pay attention,” Haines said. 

Signs already warn off vehicles that may be too large or too heavy, but because the road’s lower entrance is in Saugerties, adding more signage there is out of Hunter’s control.

Speed limit signs are largely beyond the town’s control, since Greene County owns most of the road. The Greene County Legislature would need to approve any speed limit change. 

In the meantime, Mahoney asked town Highway Superintendent Bob Blain to place a 30 miles per hour speed limit sign at the top of the road on a section owned by the town. 

“Even if it technically is only 30 miles per hour to the bridge, it slows people down for that section,” Mahoney said. 

Councilperson Ernest Reale suggested buying electronic signage to warn drivers when they are speeding and to slow down.

“I travel to Gilboa and Stamford every weekend to go to my racetrack,” he said. “There’s a sign that says, ‘You are speeding,’ and it tells me I’m doing 41, and I bring it right down to 30. Sometimes you need to use technology to assist.”

Secretary to the Supervisor Lara Hamrah-Poladian said the electronic speed-tracking devices cost around $6,000. 

Kukle said the town should consider video surveillance of the area to ticket large vehicles illegally using the road. 

“Are we able to pass an ordinance to be able to do video ticketing for vehicles that are improperly using the Back Mountain Road?” he said. “It would seem to me that’s a health and welfare or safety issue. There’s got to be a way to do it.”

Others raised concerns that the town’s police department was too small to sort through video footage. Planning Board Chair Marc Czermerys said video cameras would only ticket those who the vehicles are registered to, not the drivers themselves.

“The ticket doesn’t go to who was driving because you have no clue,” he said. “They’re going to go to the businesses that own the vehicles.”

Kukle said adjusted speed limits and increased enforcement of road rules would help “set the tone” for Hunter as a tourist destination.

“We really need to start taking possession of the entrances into our community,” he said.

Connor Greco is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Windham, Hunter, and surrounding Greene County communities. Send correspondence to connor@theoverlooknews.com.