When Cobleskill’s traffic patterns get turned upside down next year, Anne Myers wants people to be ready.
She’s called a meeting for this Thursday morning to discuss ways to ease traffic and help businesses when the state closes the Route 7 bridge for replacement next spring.
Open to the public, the meeting will be at the Best Western in Cobleskill at 7:30am.
Dr. Myers is president of the county Chamber of Commerce and SUNY Cobleskill provost. She’s been concerned about the bridge closing since the state Department of Transportation announced plans more than two years ago.
In particular, she’s worried about the impact to businesses on both sides of the bridge: Stewart’s, The Gables Bed and Breakfast and others on the east; Kelley Farm and Garden, Carpets and Then Some, the Hess station and SUNY Cobleskill to the west.
Her chief concern––and that of others––is that re-routed traffic will divert customers and commuters elsewhere.
DOT has planned detours and some signage, but Dr. Myers believes the community should do much more.
“We have the responsibility as citizens to find solutions and not wait for somebody to do it for us,” she said. “DOT can only do so much.”
Brian Kaiser, president of the downtown improvement group Cobleskill Partnership Inc., feels the same way. CPI, along with the college, is co-sponsoring the meeting with the Chamber.
“This is a major construction project on Cobleskill’s main artery that goes right through the business district,” Mr. Kaiser said.
“We have to plan to minimize the impact to businesses and traffic. We need to know, and the public needs to know, how the traffic’s going to flow.”
Thursday’s meeting is the first of a series about the bridge. The second will be June 17, and the third, July 1.
Dr. Myers said the first meeting “will set the scope of the problem.
“We’re concerned with the businesses, the effect the detours will have, the casual traffic and what the traffic patterns may look like,” Dr. Myers said.
Future meetings may discuss more elaborate signs and funding to pay for the signs.
“I don’t know that DOT has funding for that,” Mr. Kaiser said, “so the community and CPI may need to step up to help.”
Dr. Myers agreed.
“There may some fundraising involved,” she said. “I’m not sure people are aware of the consequences of businesses being hurt by this.”

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The project itself will replace the old bridge with a landscaped one with no steel overhead. Also, DOT will eliminate the hairpin turn from Bridge Street onto Route 7 and make it a T intersection.
The bridge area will have a sidewalk and Victorian lights.
DOT expects the work to take place next June, July and August.
At the same time, SUNY Cobleskill will redesign its entrance and approach from the SUNY traffic light to the bridge.
There will be a median down Route 7 and sidewalks, Dr. Myers said.
“There’s no question that when both these projects are done, they will be a major improvement,” she said.