One of the most notoriously bad stretches of roadway in, or just outside, the village will be getting a temporary make-over, but will also be closed to through traffic.

Otsego County highway superintendent Leonard Perry said Monday morning that he will use his resources to repair the Linden Avenue extension so that it is ready in time for the start of the new trolley season.

"I'll go out on a limb and I'll fix the road," he said during a meeting of municipal officials and representatives from private organizations who are stakeholders in the area.

The meeting was the second hosted by the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce designed to bring together all the interested parties to discuss potential solutions to problems with the roadway in the area of the trolley parking lot, the village streets garages, little league field and train tracks.

The area has developed into a kind of "no-man's land" over the years, said chamber administrator Polly Renckens, who added that no one really wants to take the responsibility for it.

The road gets a tremendous amount of use and for many visitors to Cooperstown, it is their first look at the village when parking at the trolley lot, she said. "We find people will not park there."

The chamber invited representatives from the village, town of Otsego, Otsego County highway and planning departments, Cooperstown Central School and the Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society for the first time last month.

One of the major problems is trying to determine whose road it is. It lies outside the village in the town and is maintained by the town of Otsego from the village limits to the last property. The village owns the land on which there is a road from Route 28 to the south trolley lot, but beyond that, the road does not seem to exist. The village has a right-of-way and easement from different property owners, but that does not mean there is officially a road.

Perry said Tuesday, that following the first meeting, he made the decision not to have his highway department trucks use the road until the issues are resolved. The decision, he said, was prompted by concerns over liability.

He also said that during internal, departmental discussions it was suggested that perhaps the best solution was to discontinue the use of the street for through traffic. He proposed that the roadway be interrupted by a greenspace which might serve as a small park or picnic area for trolley and/or train passengers.

But closing off the road threatens the trolleys because they can't make the turn off Route 28 onto the access road to the trolley parking lot, according to trolley committee chairwoman Pam Washburn.

Another result of closing the Linden Avenue extension would be an increase in traffic on Linden Avenue and Walnut Street.

"You improve that street down there and you'll see a large increase in traffic," Perry said.

Some relief for Linden Avenue could be found if the school had a road on its property connecting the elementary and high schools, he said.

School superintendent Mary Jo McPhail said the district had talked about a connecting road in the past, but it would be years before that could be considered.

Perry said he believed any solution must take into account all the problems and that there was a real need for long-term planning in that area of the village. He also lamented that officials from the NYS Department of Transportation did not attend.

"Traffic is your big problem. You need to address Route 28 in the vicinity of the village. Something needs to be done," he said.

Bruce Hodges, who heads the Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society, said from the aspect of safety, Perry's suggestion of permanently closing the roadway was good. The society operates the Cooperstown and Charlotte Valley Railroad excursion train and plans to install a temporary "station" for its passengers along the tracks.

Otsego town supervisor Bill Gates said he likes the idea of a greenspace and that the suggestion eliminates the tough issues of who would own and who would maintain the road -- issues for which it would be hard to find a solution to everyone's liking.

Gates said they must be careful that whatever solution they choose does not create new problems like an increase in traffic on the already busy Linden Avenue and the intersection of Walnut and Main Streets.

He also wondered what the public's reaction would be to closing the Linden Avenue extension.

But one problem which had to be addressed soon was the condition of the road and its impact on the village's trolleys which must travel over it. "Using the road in that condition is hard on the trolleys," Washburn said. Closing the road would likely force the trolley system to abandon the south lot or possibly use the high school parking lot as had been done in the past.

That problem was solved, however, when Perry took the initiative and volunteered his department to "try to make it passable." He urged, however, that the road be posted with signs prohibiting through traffic to cut down on the number of vehicles using the road.

"By no means do we assume any responsibility [for the road]," he said. "We're all in this together."