Mill Street to Main Street Not Easy in Windham

By Michael Ryan

WINDHAM - A persistent perplexity has again been brought up regarding entering the flow of traffic, going from Mill Street to Main Street in Windham, and challenges encountered in attempting to do so.

Town council members, at a meeting last week, heard a concern from resident Karen Bromley that is not exactly unfamiliar.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost been killed,” Bromley said, “trying to turn east onto Route 23,” from Mill Street in the heart of the downtown business district.

Bromley appealed to government leaders to alleviate the situation. Town supervisor Thomas Hoyt said the council would do what it could, while making no promises for improvement.

“Route 23 is a [New York] State road so whatever happens or doesn’t happen is controlled by them,” Hoyt explained.

Town officials have approached the State Department of Transportation on other occasions about that section of roadway.

“It’s definitely a tough intersection,” Hoyt said, noting a bumpout was added on the west side of the entryway to Route 23 when it was repaved and reconstructed in the early 2000’s.

While that improved access toward the setting sun, it did nothing to help drivers inching out of Mill Street, checking for cars, big trucks and motorcyclists coming from the east.

It is necessary, especially on a busy day in Windham, for drivers to ease into the westbound lane before zipping away from Mill Street.

Many days are busy in Windham so an orange cone has been set up in the nearest potential parking space, just east of Mill Street.

But that hasn’t resolved the issue. Hoyt suggested Bromley send a letter to the town council, detailing her experiences and her safety worries.

That letter will then be passed on to the DOT regional office in Cairo, setting in motion what will likely be a snail’s pace response.

“I can tell you this will not be a quick process,” Hoyt said, perhaps taking months before a team arrives to conduct a traffic study, then waiting for who-knows-how-long for a DOT decision.

In the meantime, many local drivers approaching the intersection from the north are taking advantage of a shortcut along Library Road, avoiding the exasperating intersection altogether.

In other matters:

—Board members set a public hearing on the 2026 budget for Wednesday, November 12, their next regular monthly council meeting (changed from Thursday, November 13, due to scheduling conflicts).

“We will be staying within the two percent tax cap,” Supervisor Hoyt said, referring to the State imposed limit on annual tax levy increases.

Preliminary numbers show $3,237,775 to be raised by taxes after factoring in a customary movement of Fund Balance and Anticipated Revenue.

Hoyt said “unfunded mandates” handed down from Albany along with the usual expected rises in insurances and unforeseeable utility cost jumps account for the higher spending.

Dollars for another fulltime worker within the town’s ambulance squad are contained in the fiscal plan, keeping staffing consistent and strong.

—Board members approved a request by resident Stephen Bemdernagel to place a decorative Menorah on the front lawn of the Centre Church.

This will be the seventh year of the holiday tradition featuring the over-sized Menorah, a multibranched candelabrum used in Jewish worship. The electric Menorah will be lighted around December 14.

—Board members, at a previous session, declined a request from the Windham Area Recreation Foundation to partner with the town on maintenance of trails, bridges, etc, at the Windham Path.

“We have the money, expertise and wherewithal to do this without burdening the taxpayers,” WARF president Nick Bove said.

WARF envisioned and built the trails at the Windham Path, providing initial maintenance prior to the town taking over the task.

Bove presented photographic documentation of spots he suggested required attention, saying, “we don’t want to get in your hair.

“We want to continue the partnership we had in the beginning and get these headaches off Gary’s plate,” Bove said, referring to highway superintendent Gary Thorington who now oversees upkeep.

“The reason the town started to maintain the Path is because it wasn’t being properly maintained,” Thorington said.

Discussion ensued, with Thorington viewing the photographs, noting some repairs or restorations had already been accomplished.

Upon Bove’s request, Hoyt offered a motion to fellow board members about having the town formally partner with WARF.

The motion was not seconded and therefore not voted on. Hoyt suggested that WARF members and Thorington walk the Path together, identifying shortfalls that could be remedied by the town.

“We have a game plan. We will address this in a professional manner. No one is going to neglect this community treasure,” Hoyt said.