Archive: News

Legislature Endorses Route 96 Corridor Management Study

The Legislature, by unanimous vote, accepted and endorsed the Route 96 Corridor Management Study, which evaluates how development along the corridor from the Village of Trumansburg to the City of Ithaca would affect corridor traffic.  The study, undertaken through a partnership involving the County, City of Ithaca, the Towns of Ithaca and Ulysses, and the Ithaca-Tompkins Transportation Council, concludes that a nodal development pattern, consistent with principles of the County’s Comprehensive Plan, would be expected to reduce traffic, enhance traffic management, and preserve quality of life within that area. 

The measure formally supports continuation of cooperative planning efforts among the parties that conducted the study.  It was stressed that the study is a document to provide planning guidance and that municipalities remain responsible for overseeing municipal land use. The other partner municipalities have all taken actions expressing some level of support for the study.

Public Hearing Scheduled on Hanshaw Road Reconstruction

The Legislature, by unanimous vote, scheduled a public hearing next month related to the project reconstructing Hanshaw Road in the Towns of Ithaca and Dryden and Village of Cayuga Heights.  The hearing will be held Tuesday, March 16, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Legislature Chanber of the County Courthouse, 320 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca.  The hearing, to be held under provisions of the Eminent Domain Procedure Law, will inform the public and review public use to be served by the reconstruction project, including impact on the environment and residents. 

Negotiations for approximately 57 permanent and 64 temporary easements for the project have not yet been completed, and the hearing will be held in case any land might need to be acquired via eminent domain procedures as a last resort.

Among other business, the Legislature

• Heard a report from the County Youth Services Department sharing results of the first countywide community youth survey as part of the 2008 New York State Youth Development Survey.
• Observed a moment of silence to honor former County legislator Florence Starr, who passed away recently.  Starr represented the Towns of Caroline and Danby from 1982-1984 on the Board of Representatives, and was the first woman to serve in a county legislative leadership position and the Board’s second Vice Chair.