OMBUDSMAN ALERT: The New TZ Bridge Must Insist On An Uncluttered Passage Into Rockland County

By Dr. Louis Alpert

This writer was privileged to meet on April 18 with two representatives of the New York State Thruway Authority, together with the Salisbury Point Board and the Mayor of South Nyack.

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss concerns about the aesthetics of the new bridge as well as the function and appearance of the maintenance dock along the north side of the bridge. The Thruway Authority is expanding the existing construction dock into a functional maintenance dock for long-term usage after the bridge is completed. It will be in place for an undetermined number of years.

The two Thruway representatives were most supportive of the suggestions of the Salisbury Board to use attractive fencing, use a narrower (but longer) construction dock, use LED lighting so as not to disturb the many hundreds of residents living in the immediate vicinity of the bridge, and finally to incorporate attractive stone walls and fencing along Piermont Avenue to enhance the security of that area.

The only issue which has remained unsettled as of this writing concerned the Thruway Authority’s expected requirement to have uncovered trucks and construction equipment, possibly on a 24/7 basis, located along River Road.

Fortunately, a suggestion was made at this meeting by one of the Salisbury Board members that the Thruway Authority consider constructing a garage to house these trucks and construction equipment, so that the driver’s first glimpse of Rockland County after crossing the bridge from Westchester would not be unsightly!

No guarantee was offered by the Thruway representatives that this would be approved.

For the above reason this writer suggests that readers who support this important need to protect the visual image of an uncluttered passage into our beautiful county, contact their legislators and request that a proper garage facility be constructed on River Road.

Rockland Consumer Advocate Dr. Louis Alpert is the former long-time chairman of the Town of Clarkstown’s Consumer Affairs Commission and professor emeritus of mathematics in the CUNY system