Residents in the Barclay Heights area of Saugerties are calling on town officials to help hit the brakes on what they call an epidemic of speeding in their tiny neighborhood.
Barclay Heights, also known as Saugerties South, is a square-mile swatch of closely built homes connected by about two dozen narrow suburban-style roads tucked between Route 9W and the Esopus Creek. Residents say blind curves and speeding motorists are a safety hazard for pedestrians and bicyclists, especially during warm weather, when parents take their kids to and from nearby Jaycee Field.
“I’ve been a homeowner for three years in the neighborhood, and since I’ve moved in, the speeding has become increasingly problematic,” said former town board member Zach Horton, who said he’s witnessed several close calls.
Horton, who lives on Birchwood Drive South with his wife and three-year-old son, said the issue was first brought to his attention by neighbors while he served on the board. He’s spoken with town officials, as well as Police Chief Kenneth Swart, about the issue.
Angelina Paulsen, who lives on Hemlock Lane with her husband and three children, ranging from ages 2 to 15, said she’s been involved in a couple of near misses. One occurred shortly after the blizzard that dumped up to two feet on the region last month.
“After the snow storm, there were piles of snow five feet tall, and I was talking to another mother when a car came around the turn so fast,” Paulsen said. “I waved my hands to slow down and the woman rolled her eyes at me. There was no way she would have been able to see a child coming around that snow bank. It’s always the same people, typically.”
Paulsen said the motorist swore at her when she confronted her as she picked up her child at one of the two home-based daycare centers in the neighborhood. Her older son, meantime, was almost hit while riding his scooter in a separate incident.
“At the end of the day, these are our children and we don’t care why you are in a rush,” Paulsen said.
Horton said he fears confrontations could worsen as frustrated parents take matters into their own hands.
“It’s something you can see escalating very quickly,” said Horton, noting an increase in road-rage incidents across the country.
Horton said the problem could intensify as renovations are completed on Jaycee Field, making it more of a destination for families and increasing foot and bike traffic.
Speed enforcement and traffic safety have been challenges for the town, according to Supervisor Fred Costello. He said there are four active petitions for speed studies throughout the town, in areas ranging from Route 212 to Blue Mountain Road.
“It is pervasive all across the town,” Costello said. “Very often, the folks who are speeding in the neighborhood are your neighbors. I wish we weren’t having this conversation, but there has been a change and it has been challenging for law enforcement.”
Costello said the town worked with the New York State Department of Transportation to lower the speed limit to 45 from 55 on several miles of Route 212 near the Woodstock border, a change expected to take place soon. He said the Saugerties Police Department is looking to use data from digital speed signs in Barclay Heights to bolster patrols during parts of the day when speeding is more prevalent.
The town is also exploring the possibility of hiring an external company to implement a speed-camera system similar to that deployed in New York City, where motorists are issued fines for speeding without points against their license, Costello said.
Swart said the department has one digital speed sign in the Barclay Heights area. Data collected over the next month or so will be used to inform the department’s next steps, he added.
“We don’t just want enforcement,” he said. “We want efficient enforcement.”
In January 2024, 21-year-old Saugerties resident Starllie Swonyoung was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Route 9W in the Village of Saugerties. The driver, Lacy Maxwell, was sentenced last year to 2 1/2 to 7 years in jail, while her husband Ryan Maxwell was sentenced to three years probation for his role in trying to cover up the incident.
Horton said that while he understands that the town and police department have limited resources, he hopes another tragedy can be avoided.
“There really is only so much the town can do,” Horton said. “You can have 100 different people not obeying the traffic laws and there might not be a tragedy until there is one.”
Jim Rich is a senior reporter for The Overlook. You can reach him at jim@theoverlooknews.com.