The people of Grand Avenue have reason to smile in 2008.
Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-Hurley) recently announced final congressional approval of $980,000 for street and drainage improvements and repairs on Grand Avenue in Poughkeepsie. Hinchey requested the money and used his position on the House Appropriations Committee to secure the funds as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2008.
The Senate approved the funds in late December and the president signed the bill into law shortly thereafter.
“After a long, arduous process, federal funds are finally on the way to Poughkeepsie to help pay for important improvements to Grand Avenue that will improve the flow of foot and vehicular traffic and enhance the quality of life for city residents and workers,” Hinchey said.
“City officials conveyed the importance of (the improvements) to the Congressman,” said Hinchey’s communications director Jeff Lieberson. “He is always listening to local needs. Plus, this will spare local taxpayers from footing the bill.”
The money will be used for street, sidewalk, curbing, storm water drainage and traffic control improvements and replacements along Grand Avenue from Main Street to Hooker Avenue. The changes became necessary when two roundabouts installed on Raymond Avenue in 2006 caused a noticeable traffic increase on Grand.
“This will be a great thing for the people who live (on Grand),” said Michael Gordon, the president of the Arlington Improvement District. “It will help appease concerns of the residents and calm traffic on the street.”
Gordon added that continued aesthetic and structural upgrades in the Arlington area make the Grand improvements a necessity.
“The roundabouts have been a major catalyst for improvements,” he said, citing a decrease in accidents on Raymond since the installation. “They’re the coming thing. This area is going to be undergoing quite a few changes. A lot of people are planning improvements. There’s hope for the future here. The small businessman can’t afford to rent space on Route 9, so a lot of new places are popping up in the Arlington area.”
Gordon said that the Improvement District usually receives 1-3 requests annually for its $10,000 façade improvement allowance. This year, it received 15 applications.
City Engineer Rich Dupilka said that while the Grand improvements have not been fully designed as of yet, drainage improvements are the No. 1 priority.
“We have to calculate the costs,” said Dupilka, who added that the project would be completed sometime in 2009 or 2010. “We might install streetlights. It will be similar to the Hamilton Street reconfiguration.”
“This is a way of making Grand Avenue more pedestrian-friendly,” said Gordon. “It’s going to be very nice.”
The upcoming federal project will expand upon an interim state project that will help residents in the area deal with the addition of the third roundabout on Raymond. The state project is mostly focused on traffic-slowing measures while the federal measures will include more structural changes.