All Over Albany

The plan for a sewer facility in Lincoln Park is set to move forward next year -- with a significant change

The plan for the Beaver Creek Clean River Project -- the sewer facility planned for Albany's Lincoln Park that prompted an upswell of community skepticism this past spring -- has changed, officials announced at a public meeting Tuesday evening at TOAST Elementary.

The project still includes a new sewer facility and park space in the old Beaver Creek ravine, but engineers have made a significant design change that officials say will result in both a smaller footprint and smaller impact.

Here's what's up.

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The plan to fix a problem in Albany that's been a century in the making -- and the concerns about that fix

One of the renderings of the project. Much of the facility would be underground.

Albany is an old city, built atop layers of old infrastructure. And it's currently taking on a problem that is literally a hundred years -- or more -- in the making.

Large portions of Albany's (very old) sewer system combine both sewage and stormwater. And when it rains a lot, the system can't handle all that water. So the sewage ends up in the Hudson River. Yep, gross. It's a serious environmental and health problem.

But the city and its neighbors are currently working on a plan to address this problem. And the centerpiece is a $45 million project -- what one official called the biggest public works project in a generation -- that would be located in Lincoln Park.

A sewer facility in a park? People are going to have a lot of questions about that. And they brought them to a public meeting this week.

Here's an overview of the project, along with some of the concerns people have....

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There's another public meeting coming up to talk about that new sewer facility planned for Albany's Lincoln Park

The Albany water department has another public meeting set for next Monday, April 23 to talk about the Beaver Creek Clean River Project -- the new sewer facility planned to be built in Lincoln Park in an effort to mitigate the effects of combined sewer overflows on one of Albany's main sewer lines.

Press release blurbage:

The Beaver Creek was once a major watercourse in the City of Albany. The project location is just west of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at the access road to the Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology.

The project, led by the City of Albany Department of Water & Water Supply, will address sewer overflows in the ravine to the south of Park Avenue between Delaware Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and includes significant community benefit elements designed to work closely with the education mission of the Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology.

The project is currently in preliminary design and is scheduled for construction to start in 2019, and be completed and enter operation in 2022. The $45 million satellite treatment project was identified in the 2014 NYSDEC Consent Order. agreed upon by the Albany CSO Pool Communities (Albany, Troy, Cohoes, Watervliet, Rensselaer and Green Island).

The project is the recipient of a $10 million Intermunicipal Grant Award from New York State. The project presentation will solicit input on the proposed design and community benefit proposals.

The meeting is Monday, April 23 at 6:30 pm at the Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology (TOAST) (94 Delaware Ave).

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That long awaited report about the future of 787 is almost ready and there's a chance coming up to learn more and make your voice heard

The formal process for thinking about the future of 787 -- the I-787/Hudson Waterfront Corridor Study -- has been in progress for years. And now it looks like there's a product.

There's a public meeting to discuss the study report March 13 at the Albany Public Library Washington Ave branch. Event blurbage:

Learn about the study findings, progressed and potential strategies, and provide your thoughts on the study's report. This public open house will exhibit informational boards, invite your input on the report, and provide a presentation about the study findings by the project team at 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13th. The content of each presentation will be the same.

The open house is from 4-7:30 pm in the auditorium toward the rear of the APL branch.

This report -- headed up by the Capital District Transportation Committee, in collaboration with the state Department of Transportation and the city of Albany -- is the culmination of a process that started in 2014 and has moved slower than originally expected.

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Looking ahead on the future of the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail

Though a portion of it has only been paved for a few years, the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail is already one of the area's most popular hike/bike paths. And 2018 is shaping up to be another big year -- the trail is set for more miles of pavement and a trailhead makeover.

Here are a few things about what's ahead...

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Whatever happened to that study about the future of the I-787 corridor?

Back in 2015 there was a series of public meetings to kick off the I-787/Hudson Waterfront Corridor Study, a project intended to help plot the future of 787 from the Port of Albany north to Watervliet. The study got a lot attention because many people saw it as the first step in moving toward knocking the elevated portion of the highway.

Two years later the study is still not out. So what's up?

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Moynihan Train Hall construction starting

A cross section of the planned project.

The Cuomo admin announced Thursday that construction is starting on the Moynihan Train Hall, which serve as the new station for Amtrak trains in New York City. The $1.6 billion project is expected to be finished in 2020.

The train hall will be in the Farley Building -- a post office complex -- across the street from Penn Station. Former New York US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan proposed the trains-at-Farley idea decades ago, and there was a plan dating back as far as 10 years ago for the construction of a "Moynihan Station" on the site. Now a version of the idea is finally happening.

An underground concourse will connect Moynihan to Penn Station. The train hall will also serve the Long Island Rail Road.

This is of interest here, of course, because NYP is by far the most popular destination from Albany-Rensselaer. And Albany-Rensselaer is one of the nation's 9th busiest train station, with more than 825,000 "on offs" each year. Also: Penn Station is depressing.

Here are new renderings, along with an animated promo video....

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From wet land to wetland

Quick pic follow up on that project the Albany Water Department started last year to build an artificial wetland and underground storage facility for storm water in Woodlawn Park.

The thinking behind the project is that will add some new flexibility to very old sewer infrastructure that runs up the spine of the city along the path of the old Beaver Kill. Areas in neighborhoods along the path have flooded in recently years when a lot of rain has dropped in short amounts of time. This project is intended to act as a buffer for all that water, holding it back from the stormwater system so it can drain gradually without flooding.

The project includes two parts: an "infiltration gallery" -- basically a series of underground tunnels that can hold 750,000 gallons of water -- that's now hidden under the outfield of a baseball diamond there, and a newly-created wetland area with a pond. That second section is now in, and the water department recently added wetland plants.

Here are a few pics of how it turned out...

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A "self-sustaining, power-generating island unto itself" in Albany

The Empire State Plaza is set to become "a self-sustaining, power-generating island unto itself" as part of a plan formally announced by the Cuomo admin Monday to build a power plant and microgrid for the ESP buildings. In other words, the ESP is basically getting its own power plant and if there's a power outage, it'll still be able to have power.

And that's a good thing. The ESP is the location of many state operations. But the really interesting part of all this might be what this project sets up for other parts of downtown Albany in the future...

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A step toward the new 838 area code

The new area code for this part of New York State is set to start in September. And the first (small) changes for telephone users connected to the new 838 area code begin later this month. From a state Public Service Commission press release blurbage:

As an intermediate step in the implementation of the new area code, a permissive dialing phase begins March 18, 2017, which will allow customers to dial either 7-digits or 10-digits (area code plus 7-digit local telephone number) on calls within the 518 area code; calls to other area codes must still be dialed as 1+ ten digits. The permissive dialing period will end on August 19, 2017, at which time callers will be required to dial 10-digits (area code plus 7-digit local telephone number).

Beginning September 19, 2017, customers in the 518 area code region requesting new service, an additional line, or a move in the location of their service, may be assigned a number in the new 838 area code.

In other words, this is all to get people accustomed to using 10-digit numbers ahead of when they'll actually have to use them.

Oh, and the other way looking at that September date is that it's the deadline for getting a new phone number with a 518 area code -- if, for some reason, that's important to you.

838? What is going on?
Here's the short backstory to all this...

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The Empire State Trail

An overview map shared by the Cuomo admin Tuesday.

One of the many proposals to floated during Andrew Cuomo's ongoing State of the State tour this week is a plan to build the Empire State Trail -- a 750-mile multi-use path that would stretch from NYC to the Adirondacks and from Albany to Buffalo.

The Cuomo admin says it'd be the longest state multi-use path in the country.

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I-890 from above

If ever you thought you'd like to zone out while watching aerial video of the newly reconfigured I-890 interchange in downtown Schenectady,* the Cuomo administration helpfully provided such video Thursday as part of the official completion announcement of the project.

The clips also include some views of downtown Schenectady and the GE campus.

But, mostly, it's just one shot after another of infrastructure, man.
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* Not likely, but you never know.

How to store 750,000 gallons of water, out of sight

Quick photo follow-up on that big storm water project the Albany water department is building just off Woodlawn Ave, which is aimed at adding some new flexibility to the city's very old sewer spine...

The "infiltration gallery" part of the project is currently going in -- and when it's finished, you won't be able to see it.

This component is basically a series of very large underground pipes that will sit under the outfield of the baseball diamond at Woodlawn Park. They'll be able to hold about 750,000 gallons of water that will either slowly seep into the ground water or be allowed to empty into the sewer at a later time when there's capacity available. The water department will use underground sensors to monitor the capacity of the storm sewer and it'll be able to discharge the water based on the situation.

The infiltration gallery will be paired with a new constructed wetland/pond area right next to it. And the plan is that the $1.9 million project will allow the sewer that runs along the path of the old Beaver Kill/Creek to better handle large rainfall events. In recent years, areas along the sewer line -- such as Elberon Place, and the homes right near this park -- have been flooded with feet of water during very large storms because the storm water system hasn't been able to drain the water fast enough.

Here are a few more pics if you're curious...

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The plan for a new NYC train station. (For real this time. Probably.)

Earlier this year Andrew Cuomo floated the latest plan for building a new train station in New York City to replace the outdated and much-unloved Penn Station. The broad outline of the project included the long-planned conversion of the huge post office building across the street from Penn Station.

Now there are more specific details: On Tuesday Andrew Cuomo revealed a timeline for the project, showed more renderings, and said the project will build a "world class" train station.

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New flexibility for city's old underground spine

This will eventually be a pond and wetland area.

Back on August 5, 2014, the skies dumped almost three inches of rain on the city of Albany in the span of about an hour.

Parts of the city's storm sewer system just couldn't keep up with the deluge -- and there was flash flooding in many spots. People floating in inner tubes downtown. Spouting manhole covers and more than two feet of water on Elberon Place. And a little farther uptown in a section just off South Main Ave, the backyards and basements of houses were swamped with four feet of water.

Prompted in part by that day, Albany's water department is now building a $1.9 million project aimed at adding some modern flexibility to the very old infrastructure that runs up the city's spine.

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Albany area mobile service is toward the back of the pack

We clipped the RootMetrics overall performance graphs for Lansing (#1) and Albany (#112) and put them side by side.

Maybe it doesn't matter as much if you're toward the back of the pack when the whole group is moving faster.

We were thinking about that while looking through the latest RootMetrics report about mobile service (data and voice) both here in the Albany area and across the nation. Because two things jumped out:

+ The Albany area ranked 112 out of 125 metros for overall mobile network performance. And the Hudson Valley ranked last.

+ But if you compare the individual service provider scores for Albany with that of Lansing, Michigan -- the #1 overall metro -- the difference isn't really that big. (Sprint and T-Mobile service were indicated to be worse here -- and Sprint's data speeds were way slower in Albany.)

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Sinkhole swallows SUV in Albany

Laura sent along this pic of the sinkhole at South Lake Ave and Elberon Place in Albany that swallowed an SUV this morning. The spot is just uptown of the western end of Washington Park. (See also: Video clips from the scene by J. P. Lawrence and Kari Beal.)

The Albany Water Department reported that there is a major water main break at the site. From a city press release: "Customers should be aware that they will be experiencing lower water pressure. The Water Department is asking that Albany residents try to conserve water until repairs are made."

A handful of history-minded people were noting this morning that the sink hole is in the path of the Beaverkill, one of the major streams that once flowed through the city. It was buried underground decades ago as development stretched to the west.

Update: After the jump there's an embedded video showing the scene from above -- it shows the scale of the hole with the SUV in it and the water main gushing water.

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Thinking about Capital Region commuter rail

A Shore Line East commuter rail service train in Connecticut. / photo: Pi.1415926535 on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The topic of bringing rail transit to the Capital District is one that comes up regularly every few years. Certainly, there are a good number of well-intentioned advocates out there in the region who believe that to have a serious transit option, the Capital District must have rail.

I don't -- at least, not yet. And here's why.

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Goodbye, Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable is now officially part of Charter Communications after the $55 billion acquisition closed today. And that means the TWC brand will be fading away. The combined company will be called Charter, and the services -- such as cable TV and internet access -- will be marketed under Charter's Spectrum brand. [Bloomberg]

So, if you're a TWC customer, what's all this mean?

Well, Charter's CEO said today in a press release that there won't be many changes right away, but there will eventually be "product improvements and consumer friendly policies."

Here are a few things to keep an eye on:

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Designing for safer Capital Region streets

Central Ave at Quail Street in Albany.

Street safety has been a major topic of discussion in the Capital Region recently, from Albany's red light cameras to the Madison Avenue road diet to the death of a young boy in Albany and far too many others across the region. It's pretty clear that everyone agrees something must be done.

To a large extent, though, it seems that the discussion about road safety for all users has focused on more and better enforcement of existing laws as a solution to the toll. And while enforcement of speed limits and road safety -- which, in my experience, is pretty nonexistent in much of the region -- is absolutely part of the ultimate fix, the focus on it ignores that there is, in fact, a much more effective solution at hand: better design of our streets and roads.

Here are a few examples:

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What if tearing down I-787 could actually improve traffic?

The future of I-787 often pops up in conversations about downtown Albany - specifically, the desire that many people apparently have to see the elevated highway torn down.

There's a currently a longterm effort by a group of state and local agencies to study this overall topic. And you're probably already familiar with some of the potential benefits the tear-it-down crowd touts: A boulevard replacement would reconnect the city with the waterfront. It could improve air quality, especially in some underprivileged areas. And it could open up considerable portions of land for development.

Of course, one of the counter arguments is that 787 is necessary to handle the large amounts of traffic that flow into Albany each weekday, and tearing it down would tip downtown into traffic gridlock.

But what if it was just the opposite -- what if tearing down 787 could actually make traffic in Albany flow more smoothly and efficiently?

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Revisiting the reservoir goats

A month ago the Albany Water Board announced it had hired (so to speak) five goats to clear a brush-covered section of the land around the city of Albany's Loudonville Reservoir.

A strip along the eastern edge of the reservoir had become choked with a tangle of trees, bushes, and vines -- and the slope of the land made it hard to work on, especially since debris would have to be kept out of the reservoir. Apparently it was difficult enough that the water board had trouble finding a contractor willing to take on the tricky task.

Enter the five goats from Heather Ridge Farm as a sort of test of the concept of goatscaping.

So, how'd that turn out?

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Reservoir goats

They're working.

It can be hard to hire a contractor. Sorting through all the various options. Coordinating calls and appointments for estimates. Trying to pick the best person.

And what if, as the Albany Water Board recently decided, the best person for the job is... a goat?

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Four takeaways from the kickoff for the study about the future of I-787

A large map was laid out so members of the public could annotate with ideas.

The planning project for the future of I-787 -- and the waterfront -- got off to its public start Wednesday with presentations at the Albany Public Library.

The I-787/Hudson Waterfront Corridor Study is sponsored by Capital District Transportation Committee, the state Department of Transportation, and the city of Albany. Its focus extends from the Port of Albany along the riverfront north to Watervliet. And its aims include helping develop strategies for improving waterfront access and guiding future transportation planning.

We stopped by for the early presentation (the same presentation was to be repeated in the evening), and took some time to check out the various posters and other "visioning" materials.

Here are four impressions/takeaways...

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Planning for how we'll all get around the Capital Region in the future

If our future overlords will be self-driving vehicles, it's probably a good idea to have a plan fo them. (If only so we can properly welcome them.) / photo: Google

A bit of follow-up to that discussion about trends that are shaping the way people get around the Capital Region: The Capital District Transportation Committee has a couple of public meetings this week to go over the draft version of its New Visions 2040 Plan -- this is the map (of sorts) for thinking and planning all sorts of regional transportation stuff, including roads, bridges, traffic congestion, CDTA, bike lanes, car sharing, road diets, even stuff like self-driving cars.

The meetings are:

+ Tuesday, June 16 at the Empire State Plaza (Meeting Room 6, Concourse Level) from 6:30-8:30 pm

+ Thursday, June 18 at Niskayuna Town Hall from 6:30-8:30 pm

The full draft plan is online if you'd like to have a look (there's also an executive summary and listing of key recommendations.) If you're curious about any of the topics mentioned above, you'll probably find at least a few interesting bits.

After a quick read through, here are a handful of things that caught our eye:

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