Please take a look at the light on the corner of Oneida and Morton. That light backs up traffic in the morning for BLOCKS!! It's horrible!!! Kate

In addition to fixing the traffic light problem there should be parking on both sides of the street, it is very wide and parking is in short supply.

The folks on Notre Dame need another way to exit. We have only one option and are completely trapped when there is a serious backup (as there was last week).

Last week, it took 30 minutes to exit the parking lot on Notre Dame Drive and reach Hackett Blvd because the traffic was backed up on Holland, Notre Dame, Clara Barton and with the one-way street on Notre Dame and the single lane caused by poor snow removal on Clara Barton, no one could move.

Last Thursday it took us almost 45 minutes to get out of the Albany Law School parking lot at 5 p.m. While we were waiting in traffic, one of the passengers in our car was able to go back into the law school, print SEVERAL cases, and come back out in time to get back into the car before we made it to the street. Ridiculous.

Moreover, with the addition of the Brighter Choices school on Hackett Blvd. - which dismisses students from 4:30 - 5, the exact time that the traffic congestion in the area is at its most congested - the entire situation is untenable, causing SIGNIFICANT traffic delays and dangerous conditions. It should be evaluated and fixed ASAP.

The lack of snow removal on Notre Dame, Vassar, Princeton and Clara Barton is a contibuting factor to the problem.

It's absolutely ridiculous that so many parking meters were dug up just to force people into using the new parking garages. The garages charge over $3 for an hour of parking time, whereas the meters only charge 75 cents per hour. What kind of ridiculous monopoly is that??

Holland Ave needs to be a two-way street! It would open a second way to get out of the law school. Snow removal is also a huge problem. You cannot see around any exit to the parking lot.

It literally takes me 15mins just to get out of the parking lot and another 10mins to get from Notre Dame drive to Hackett Blvd. Please take a look at the pattern and correct it.

Recently it took me 40 minutes to drive from Notre Dame Ave. to Hackett Blvd., via Clara Barton. The situation needs to be resolved.

Same comment as K and Gerry

Please fix this issue. It takes over 45 minutes to leave the back Albany Law lot 11 and get through the light at New Scotland when leaving anytime after 4pm

The extreme amount of snow limiting driving space to one lane on Clara Barton doesn't help. Neither do the drivers who pull under the traffic lights blocking the intersecting lanes of traffic. I can thank one CDTA bus driver who blocked my passage through two light cycles on Friday, 2/4.

Help, please! This has turned into a traffic nightmare.

Susan T.

it takes me at least 20 minutes to get to the law school from an apartment on Washington Park. All of the lights on New Scotland and Holland Ave need to be re-timed so that traffic actually moves.

The poorly executed snow removal on Clara Barton adds to the problem. Parked cars were not moved or towed during the last snow emergency. It is also extremely hazardous for pedestrians on Clara Barton who have to walk in the street because of a lack of sidewalks. Often these pedestrians have small children with them walking from the bus stop to the pediatrician practice at the end of the street.

This was the biggest waste of energy and money spent by the City. These lights are completely unnecessary! All they do is slow down traffic, cause 30 min delays to get 1/4 mile down the road, and back up traffic on New Scotland as well. The City should take out the lights on Holland, at the Hilton Garden intersection, and put a turning light from New Scotland onto Holland in both directions. Syncing lights throughout the Albany would also help!

Trying to make a left turn from New Scotland on to Holland Ave is virtually impossible at certain times of the day. You're competing with those that have the right turn signal (cars making a right from New Scotland on to Holland) and those continuing East (in the direction toward Madison) on New Scotland. The city should look into a left turn traffic signal.

This traffic situation is not only important for commuters but also for emergency services. Many ambulances come through that area to get to the emergency room. The traffic at times is most definitely not conducive to those vehicles. I hope the city can look into this.

It routinely takes a half hour to exit parking lots on Notre Dame Avenue between 4:00 and 5:00. Additional exit options need to be implemented as soon as possible.

This area is a parking lot from 7:30 - 9:00 in the morning and from 4:30 to 5:30 at night. The massive potholes are not helping the situation either !

The lack of snow removal on Notre Dame, Vassar, Princeton and Clara Barton is a huge contributing factor to the traffic problems in this area. I leave at 4pm along with most of the state employees and many law school employees/students and its impossible to reach Hackett. Since the last few snow storms these roads have not been properly cleared making a two way street a one way street. Since Princeton and Clara Barton are the only exit out of this area, it is unacceptable to have essentially a one way street. It takes me on average 20 minutes to reach Hackett from the law school lot. Better snow removal would be helpful as well as considering different traffic patterns for this area.

The traffic situation is about as good as Fergie's attempt at Axl Rose. Clean up the traffic!

One night last week traffic was backed up all the way into the Albany Law School parking lot on upper Notre Dame Drive. It took close to an hour for me to get from my parking space to the intersection of Holland and Princeton, and an additional 20 minutes to take a left turn onto Holland. People move into that intersection and sit there preventing other from turning into or out of Princeton Drive through several changes of the traffic light. The same thing happens at Notre Dame Drive blocking people who are turning out of the Albany Medical Center parking garage either left or right onto Holland. Traffic in this area has increased considerably over the last 6 months, and congestion has tripled.

Another desperate need is for a left turn lane for turns onto Holland from Delaware. Or at least a left turn green arrow!

I car pool with my wife every day for work. When leaving work at 4:30 PM weekdays, it can take up me upwards of 50 minutes to go from Albany Law School (80 New Scotland Avenue) to the Capital District Psychiatric Center (75 New Scotland Avenue).
I find traffic backed up on Notre Dame Drive, Vasser Drive, Princeton Drive, Clara Barton Drive, Holland Avenue and New Scotland Avenue. Complete gridlock. This is unacceptable.

It took me almost an hour to go from Notre Dame Drive to Hackett via Princeton Drive and Clara Barton. Something needs to be done.

Please fix this problem! It is backing up traffic at all hours of the day.

Something must be done the situation at albany law is unacceptable...waiting in traffic for 45 min is the norm now..it must be fixed

Something needs to change. It shouldn't take me over to get to holland from the back parking lot.

Impossible to move - get stuck for about am hour moving between holland and new Scotland. Must be changed

I don't know what is worse, the traffic, the pot holes or the parking problems on the streets. And the fact that they widened the turn coming from New Scotland to Holland doesn't make matters and better. Also after leaving the Law School and coming down Princeton Dr. which faces the VA Hospital, there is a pot hole on the right hand side that has been there for over two years. It is about 2' in diameter by 1' deep. At the moment it is covered with snow and I can't imagine how big it will be this spring. I am just waiting to get a flat tire from it or damage my rim.

Perhaps to alleviate some of the congestion there should be staggering dismissal. Have some people come in 5 to 10 minutes early and leave 5 to 10 minutes early.

Since they put a light on Notre Dame and Holland they should make that a two way street again. Also do not allow parking on Clara Barton and Notre Dame to allow traffic to move in both directions or clear the road to make room for traffic. It takes 20 to 30 minutes to get out of the lot and it is very frustrating and dangerous.

While I am sure that the civil engineers who redesigned the Holland ave intersection had good intentions, just as the fabled road to hell is surely paved in them, it is no longer alone. The other road is the one we now find ourselves consigned to commute on every morning and evening, which has turned a 3 minute drive into 30, and a pleasant cooperating community into a hellish, rage inducing free for all. Please dispatch a civil engineer to rectify this matter, it is untenable.

At least twice a week in recent months, it has taken between 30 and 60 minutes to get from Notre Dame Drive to Hackett. This is absolutely unacceptable, something must be done to remedy this situation.

It has taken me up to 35-45 minutes to get from Albany Law School to Hacket via Clara Barton Dr. Actually plowing those streets as well would be helpful. Not allowing on-street parking would be brilliant! Make Notre Dame a 2-way street again since there is now a traffic light there! This is a nightmare now--what if there was an emergency? Its not just students in the area--consider the other community members and taxpayers who work in the area.

If Notre Dame drive is going to continue to be one way, move parking on to the other side of the street; that way when people come out of the law school parking lots they do not have to have x-ray vision to see through cars oncoming traffic. If Notre Dame goes back to two way because of the new light get rid of parking altogether on Notre Dame, pave it also.

Many days I commute via cdta bus and I watch traffic while waiting. Many days traffic backs up on Holland, New Scotland, Princeton and Hackett for no reason. It should not take a bus 20 minutes to get from the corner of New Scotland and Holland to the corner of Holland and Delaware. There is something wrong. Too many schools and offices getting out at the same time or something. This traffic pattern definitely needs to be studied.

It has been taking me 30 minutes to get from the Albany Law School parking lot down to Hackett! It's ridiculous and needs to be fixed.

The lights on Holland and Notre Dame serve a disservice to all.

Of course this needs to be fixed, but on the other hand does every single person working or studying in this area need to commute alone in a private automobile? Employers and schools should--meaningfully not trivially--incentivize walking, biking, busing, and car-sharing to work or campus. That would relieve some of the pressure.

"Relieving some of the pressure" by relying on or turning to external sources (i.e. schools/hospitals) is not a viable solution to an infrastructure problem. The area of Albany that is under debate is an area whose roads cannot support, to any level, the amount of traffic going into the area. Three parking garages, and how many parking lots with 100+ spaces all using what, 3 single roads to come and go.

Who is going to want to "stay" (move in/continue to work in) Albany, when you can't get out reasonably get out of Albany without having to sit in traffic for 30min, or when lines of traffic make it both distasteful to look and dangerous to cross as a pedestrian.

people are backed up all the way to the parking lots, you walk to your car and your in traffic immediately for at least 30 mins just to get to madison, which is less than a mile and should take one minute
there needs to be some system investigation

I left the began driving from the Albany Law School Parking lot at 4:48 and reached Clara Barton and Hackett at 5:38. Most of the jam was getting from the parking lot onto Princeton, which took about 30 minutes. That amount of time to travel roughly two blocks is excessive. People riding the shuttle from the med center could have crawled on their hands and knees faster than the shuttle made it down Notre Dame. The VA, Med Center, Pharmacy, Law School, the two medical clinics on Clara Barton and State Offices feed onto the two small streets and it feels hopeless. I try to leave by 4 these days.

Also a contributing factor are the cars parking on Clara Barton. The snow banks do not allow enough space for vehicles to travel in both directions. Perhaps "no parking" signs should be installed.

I cycle in many times, but this winter has been tough and the lack of safe routes even without all of the snow and potholes is a factor.

Terrible traffic patterns resulting from lights on the corner of Morton and Delaware and again on Hackett and Holland.

In addition to the general traffic problem I would add that:

1. The light at Morton and Oneida should be timed properly with the light at Morton and Delaware.

2. People turning left onto Holland from the VA hospital frequently fail to yield to cars going straight through the intersection. There should be signage clarifying who has the right of way.

It took me half an hour just to get from Lot 11 onto Holland. seriously ridiculous.

Don't hate on the people who park on Clara Barton. I park there. Just fix the bottle neck. Deal with it.

I agree that the light at Morton and Oneida should be timed properly in relation to the light at Delaware and Morton.

It's about time someone did this! Tired of leaving at 4:30pm and getting home at 6:00pm due to the traffic here!

Another person wants this fixed!

It takes me 25 minutes to get home from the ACPHS parking lot... when I only live 12 blocks away!

I work in the area and have a horrible experience leaving every night. The traffic is absolutely horrendous, and there is no reason why it should be taking me over an hour to get home - 6 miles away. I strongly agree that Notre Dame should be turned into a 2 way or there should be a left only lane onto Holland somewhere. While you're at it Albany...

Please re-pave New Scotland. It has thrown my car out of alignment on more than one occassion and you expect ambulances, with injured people in them, to drive up and down these pot hole filled roads. I know they jerk my car to the point hurts to go over them sometimes, I can't imagine having to go over them under life threatening circumstances.

I understand that it is winter time, and things like this should be expected, and they are... but the road problems in the area have gotten out of control. Does anyone know if there is someone in particular that can be contacted regarding this problem?

The traffic lights around the intersection of Holland/Morton and Delaware have this magical ability to create a massive traffic jam from barely any traffic at all. When there actually is traffic, say at 7:30 AM, I think "traffic apocalypse" would be a more accurate term.

Those of us coming from 787 in the morning and going up Morton are privileged to enjoy watching the light at Oneida Terrace change several times without traffic moving whatsoever because the light a few hundred feet up the road at Delaware was red the whole time...

The main problem is that Albany Law, and the pharmacy, have ONE EXIT for thousands of commuters to exit the premise. Ridiculous. And while, we're @#$%... can we get some left turn lanes on Western?

The traffic leaving Albany Law School has always been bad but since the new light was added, it has been even worse! Even trying to come into Albany Law at rush hour from New Scotland Avenue is terrible. There is no easy way in or out. And when it snows the situation is magnified by 100%. I have spent upwards of 1-1.5 hours just to get ONTO Hackett or Holland (the only two options for students coming out of the law school). This is not acceptable. It is clear that the roads cannot handle the volume and this needs to be fixed! God forbid there was an emergency and we needed to get out quickly!

Fix!

The timing of the traffic lights in Albany as a whole seem like they were timed to MAKE traffic as if to make Albany seem like a real city. Why don't we call in some professionals to time the lights to reduce traffic instead of make it. That's what real cities do ;-)

Even before the addition of the two new lights on Holland by the parking garages across from Notre Dame Drive the traffic lights were improperly timed as to alleviate congestion. Unfortunately, instead of the aiding the problem, the new traffic lights have amplified the congestion ten-fold. While the traffic is not backed up at all hours of the day, at key travel hours traffic has been known to be at a standstill for more than an hour.

25 minutes to get out of the parking lot

It really is unacceptable that it takes 1/2 hour to get out of the parking lot and go one mile to 787, and that's on a good day. The roads are so congested and with only one way out it really is a public safety issue.

Congestion is above normal. During peak times, it takes 2 to 3 light changes to progress through these intersections.

Have more often than I would like to admit waited over 45 minutes to get out of Law School parking lots, and just the other day saw full lanes of traffic on Holland try to accommodate an ambulance.

Trying to turn left from New Scotland onto Holland Ave at 4:45 pm is nearly impossible as well (to say nothing of crossing Holland Ave. on foot). Only one or two cars can make it through, and then only by rushing to turn ahead of oncoming traffic, or obstructing the intersection and turning after the light changes. The congestion in front of the hospital at that time would seem to make it impossible for any emergency vehicle to pass through.

Let's not ignore the Left turn issue from New Scotland to Holland Ave, it is dangerous and often impossible to turn!

Can this be fixed in anyway? A simple green arrow or even a rotary? Why has this entire area been redone and no attention paid to this ongoing traffic issue?

Clearly the main issue here is the backup caused by inadequate lane system at Delaware Avenue coming from hackett blvd on holland. A right turn only lane would suffice here, OR removing the left turn only restriction from the left lane. Penalties for motorists who block the intersection would also be a deterrence to part of the problem. Also, the entrance and egress from albany psychiatric center and wadsworth hold up the traffic on new scotland ave west going the other way. Changing the timing of the lights during rush hour at both Lake and Academy roads to stay green longer for new scotland traffic would likely remedy this problem. Thoughts??

The article in the TU addressing this issue is not satisfactory. We have to come up with SOLUTIONS!! There are 2 exits for Law/Pharmacy/State workers and 3000 cars.
Better plowing on these side streets would help too.

I know one solution...walking! This area was not design to handle 4000+ suburbanites traveling in and out for their job. If you don't like it, find a job outside of Albany or move closer to where you work in this area. I'd rather pay the extra $2,500 in taxes every year and take a nice 10 minute stroll home than waste 1hr/day for 280 days of the year @ $20hr pay = $5,600.

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