Further Lakes Road Development Endangers Local Drivers
Councilwoman Mary Bingham Scores a Rare Win
Let’s start with a rare bit of good news for the Town of Monroe:
Councilwoman Mary Bingham was named liaison to the Town Planning Board.
As reported exclusively here at The Monroe Gazette, in 2023 there were 24 different liaisons appointed by Supervisor Cardone.
Councilwoman Bingham received only two of those appointments: Water and Moodna.
Bingham, in 2023, was the sole Democrat on the Town Board.
I’ve placed a FOIL request to the Town of Monroe asking for the 2024 Liaison appointments. In an absolutely shocking turn of events, I have yet to hear back.
So, it’s not known publicly who the liaisons are for each committee, which should be concerning.
In 2023, Supervisor Cardone was the sole liaison for half of them.
This is a big deal because, according to Tony Cardone himself, only the liaisons are supposed to work on the business each committee represents.
That means you can elect anyone you want to the Town Board, but if they’re not given the position of liaison by Cardone, he’s actively restricting their ability to do much of anything for you.
Doesn’t sound much like a democracy now does it?
The Planning Board …
There were three items brought before the planning board.
One of them is super boring and not worth discussing because it’s just a renovation.
The other two; however, are worth talking about.
We’ll take them in order from least important to most:
355 Rt. 17 M (0221-2024) SBL # 25-3-6.12 Monroe, NY
This is the former Tre Angelina property.
The applicant wants to knock it down and turn it into office space for healthcare focused businesses.
This may include a physical therapy center on the first floor. The planning board has to approve the change in use of the space from a restaurant to an office.
Fun fact: I was told I had a birthday party here in the early ‘90s when it was some kind of arts and crafts place for kids.
I have NO memory of this. I think a clown was present. I don’t know. But it’s a thing that happened.
Meadow Hill (0169-2018) SBL # 37-1-1 Lakes Road Monroe, NY
This is a proposed six lot subdivision with possible tree clearing and an impact on the wetlands.
You can see the discussion for Meadow Hill begin here.
It’s not too far from the Roscoe Smith house, which is always concerning because of the current activity of the Village of Monroe to protect and preserve that property and turn it into a public park.
You’re not going to have much of a park if it’s always underwater.
And speaking of water: If you drove on Lakes Road over the past six months, you know we have a HUGE problem.
4 inches of rain = Lakes Road underwater.
We just had the hottest January ever.
The planet is going to meet, and exceed, the 1.5 degrees threshold we were supposed to keep it at.
Which means for you, me, and your kids: A hotter, wetter climate.
Specifically, four inches of rain in our area is now a regular thing.
We can’t pretend otherwise.
Facts are facts.
So … Why exactly are we cutting down more trees and fucking around with the wetlands needed to help alleviate and manage that flooding on Lakes Road?
I know there’s a housing crisis, both in our area and nationally. But a subdivision seems like an irresponsible solution to that problem.
One that will only make the flooding on Lakes Road worse.
And I don’t know about you, but I feared for my life twice this year, during a couple of these storms, while driving on Lakes Road.
Members of the planning board did bring up the flooding concerns, so that was great to see.
However …
I’m hoping if you’re a Monroe resident, you’ll let Councilwoman Bingham know your concerns about the flooding.
Outside of flood mitigation and infrastructure improvements to improve driver safety on Lakes road — this includes the current plan to set the speed limit at a consistent 30 miles per hour from the Village border to the Chester border — absolutely nothing should be happening on Lakes Road until it’s safe to travel on.
Right now? It’s not.
Because with climate change, we’re now only one storm away from it flooding again and putting people’s lives at risk.