Seibert Road and Communication

One of the things I love about living in the village is that when I need to get from home to almost anywhere, I have lots of options. Traffic backed up in front of my house usually means it's slow going at the Walden and Central intersection. No problem. I can aim towards Broadway and come up Transit. Heading to Como Park while school buses are out? There's a back way I can go to avoid Court Street Elementary. Alas, I recently learned that freedom of movement isn't available to all residents in Lancaster.

During a Democratic Committee meeting this spring, a new member mentioned they lived near Seibert Road. In response, a couple of people groaned sympathetically. I heard someone say, "oh, I'm so sorry" and the person laughed and thanked them. Consider my curiosity piqued! Fairly quickly, I got an earful from members who live on the street, in the neighborhood, or used to be able to use Seibert Road to get to William Street from their subdivision. As far as I can tell:

• two years ago, the town discovered or was informed of damage to the road and culvert about 100 yards from William Street

• the road was closed on either side of the damage and detour signs were posted

• a plan was developed to fix the road

And that's where the story ends. It looks as if there was movement regarding funding in February of 2024 but nothing formally happened until October, when the town passed a resolution regarding the repair, confirming federal dollars would be used and NYS would manage the spending of those dollars. That same week, WKBW came out to do a story about the delay. At last week's town board meeting - July 22, 2025 - there was an update from the board that referenced residents' on-going frustration and the board's efforts to move the work forward.

The challenge isn't so much that the current status is unknown to me - someone who lives 3 miles away - it's that the updates aren't making their way to those who live on or near Seibert Road; they have no idea when the road will be fixed. On a bike ride last week, I followed the route Google Maps suggested for me to get from just past the second set of closed road signs from William Street to William Street School, a few hundred yards away as the crow flies. On my almost mile and a half ride, I chatted with a few of the neighborhood residents I saw out and about and it seemed as if most had gotten used to it. A few mentioned the extra traffic or the inconvenience. When I got home, I spent some time researching the project and ended up speaking with someone in the New York State Transportation department and it is my understanding that the bids for repairing the road will be opened in November 2025 - which means repair work won't start until Spring 2026.

It's a testament to Buffalo heartiness that people have adapted - but town residents shouldn't have to get used to not knowing when a problem in their neighborhood can and will be solved. Nor should they have to call the town to get an update. Communication is a two-way street and the residents of Seibert Road and the surrounding neighborhoods are entitled to quarterly, if not monthly updates, on the specific status of the repair.

We can't make construction season come sooner but when we're elected, we can absolutely make sure residents get regular updates on the construction progress, know who to reach out to if they have questions, and how to find out more information through email alerts, the town app, or something as simple as a regularly-updated laminated sign attached to the warning signs on the road itself.

In November 2025, your vote will either encourage more of the same silence from the Board or open lines of communication. Vote Sweeney and Borgioli for Lancaster.

Originally posted on Facebook on July 28

Finding Answers about Lancaster Happenings

IYKYK.

If you’re active here on Facebook and know the right place to go, you can be in the know about things happening in our town. There are at least 10 active Facebook groups focused on Lancaster, not to mention more than a dozen Lancaster neighborhoods on NextDoor and Lancaster-specific conversations on various forums and websites. In the last few weeks, people have posted asking about traffic changes due to paving, the reason why a bunch of trees were cut down, when an event was happening, how to best reach someone in town government, or about planned changes for their neighborhood.

Some of the questions got joke or conflicting answers, some got ignored. It shouldn’t be that hard to learn what’s happening in the town of Lancaster.

Community-focused internet groups serve all sorts of purposes but when it comes to matters related to government – our roads, parks, town events, and resources – there is so much more the town can be doing.

Did you know the Town of Lancaster has a mobile app? It’s clean, easy to read, and doesn’t take up a lot of space on our phones. In the welcome, it says users will get updates “from the Town on range of topics.” That's great!

The last update was March 11, 2025 to announce the parking ban has been lifted. The last update before that? December 22, 2024.

There is so much more the app could be used for and residents deserve a town council that consistently communicates with residents and makes sure we are kept update on what’s happening in our town. It can be used to summarize changes to the town’s budget, announce new businesses, road closings, share updates from the planning board, and more.

It’s wonderful we can ask our neighbors and strangers on the internet what’s happening in our town. We shouldn’t have to. Improved communication between the Town and residents is key among the reasons I'm running for the board and will be one of the first things I work to address when elected.

Originally posted on Facebook on June 10