Parking a big concern in Mohonk Foothills area

That Gatehouse project also includes the purchase of land containing Kleinekill Farm, Humpo Marsh and the restoration of Lenape Lane.

Some people are worried that between Glynwood’s farm incubator and Mohonk’s Testimonial Gatehouse plan, it could mean increased traffic and more development west of the Wallkill.

Both organizations reject that assumption.

Glenn Hoagland, the Preserve’s executive director, told neighbors that rumors of a massive parking lot at the Testimonial Gatehouse don’t have much basis in fact.

“Our goal, as you know — and hopefully folks will come out at the end of the month and learn more — is to purchase 500 acres from OSI in these foothills, and with site plan approval from the Town of New Paltz, install two carefully sited, off-road trailheads,” Hoagland said.

Testimonial Gatehouse’s parking lot is due to have 90 parking spaces — much fewer than rumor had it — and Humpo Marsh will have 20 parking spaces.

Currently, Mohonk Preserve has four trailheads — three in Gardiner and one in Marbletown. Despite the sprawling nature preserve’s association with New Paltz, the town doesn’t actually have any trailheads within the town line.

Collectively, the other trailheads feature 450 parking spaces, Hoagland added.

By buying that land, which used to belong to the for-profit resort Mohonk Mountain House before changing hands to OSI, the Preserve can reopen and rehab eight miles of carriage road.

“So contrary to what’s been alleged in some of the most recent postings and letters, Lenape Lane Bridge would not be raised. It will not be replaced. We will simply be putting a new deck on that bridge. It has been condemned by engineers. Since it was built, it was last improved in 1926,” the Preserve’s executive director said.

Since that acreage is becoming part of the whole, Mohonk Preserve members will have free access to the Testimonial Gatehouse and other Foothills lands if they’re already members, he said.

Ronald Knapp, Mohonk Preserve’s board president, also downplayed rumors swirling about the project. For instance, a traffic circle near the gatehouse isn’t officially a part of the site plan, he said.

“This is not a Disneyland, Mohonk Preserve’s plan. We believe what we are planning is a sensitive restoration of a historic and iconic landscape,” Knapp said.

Town Planning Board members are due to begin reviewing the Testimonial Gatehouse project later this month. Knapp reminded neighbors that they’ll have a say during that months-long process.

Harry Ellis, who lives on Butterville near where it intersects with Route 299, said safety needs to be a priority in any discussion of parking or traffic in the area.

“I consider that corner, perhaps, one of the most dangerous corners in the county,” Ellis said, adding that according to his research, nearly three percent of all accidents in New Paltz happen there. “Oftentimes they’re very, very violent. Last summer I saw someone rolling 50 feet onto my lawn — sideways — because they were going so fast.”

Visibility at that intersection is poor, most neighbors said. The Lenape Lane Bridge is also an accident waiting to happen, residents said.

For his part, town Highway Superintendent Chris Marx agrees. “It’s not safe out there by any means,” he said.

During the winter, Marx had to authorize the towing of cars from Butterville. Those cars happened to belong to a group of regular runners trying to stay fit. They were left stranded and confused when their cars were gone.

However, Marx said that although he uses towing as a last resort, if plowing can’t occur, if cars are on the pavement or interfering with traffic, he has to call in the trucks to haul away offending cars.

If the town does post no parking signs in the area, they’d have to go up every 200 feet, as per state regulation, Marx added.

The highway super also didn’t know exactly what the best approach out there would or should be. “I don’t have an answer for you as far as parking,” he said.