Letter to the Editor published in The Record, Sunday, June 8, 2014
Underpass woes in Ridgewood
Ridgewood’s underpass brouhaha won’t be over until it’s over.
Meanwhile, the question is how to go under.
We’re assured that a full complement of staff professionals worked on this plan for years and the council approved it unanimously. Responding to public outcry, however, the council quickly agreed to demolish 800 to 900 feet of just-poured curbing to halve the center divider’s width from eight feet to four feet. Previously it was 3.5 feet. That enables two driving lanes to be restored later, if desired.
Good, but what a waste. And aren’t the bicycle lanes the basis of a $146,500 grant under the state’s “Complete Streets” program? Would removing them forfeit the grant?
Since a narrow median can’t support trees, wood chips or gardeners, it will be “hardscaped,” not landscaped. That’s okay, said new Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, because the median plantings on Grove Street have gone to weeds anyway. Moreover, the $5,000 “saved” on trees and $20,000 “saved” on an irrigation system can go toward the $45,000 needed to replace the new curbing.
Communications were inadequate, admitted Sonenfeld. Residents who instantly saw the plan as untenable would have weighed in long ago had they been informed.
During World War II, my father worked with Army traffic in Europe. Pins were stuck into road maps with different pin colors representing the number and extent of accidents at intersections. Where “too many” deaths were tallied, someone was sent to direct traffic.
Is that what will happen at the underpass?
Marcia Ringel
Ridgewood, June 5
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