Monday, July 5, 2010

Dangerous Driving Conditions In New Rochelle, NY

By Joseph M. Calisi Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved

The New Rochelle Transportation Center that is used by Metro-North, has a dangerous driving situation that needs to be addressed. When the entire center was rebuilt to include a parking garage and new entrance ramps, the western entrance was built with a view block when exiting the center and entering Division Street. Division Street is a one-way southbound street bridge. A second similar situation exists on the next block just over the railroad tracks.

When driving up this ramp and reaching the top at Division Street (located between Railroad Avenue and Station Plaza North) and at Railroad Avenue, the driver of a vehicle cannot see oncoming traffic on the right when stopping at the crosswalk. A driver must 'nose out' for the ability to see oncoming traffic - creating an accident situation for not one but two motorists.

The cause of this view block is the fence on the bridge over I-95. The fencing appears to be built according to code, but in this case, the fence needs to be modified. Below are photos I recently took of this dangerous place.

These intersections are dangerous for both motorists and pedestrians as visibility is limited.

There are no yield signs on Division Street warning of possible oncoming traffic nor is there a painted ‘candy stripe’ on the bridge to pull cars into a slow lane requiring a full stop. Cars on the ramp are not protected from bridge traffic.

These are all issues apparently not addressed during the design phase of the project back in the 1990s.

The object of this post is to warn drivers of these situations. Hopefully, the New Rochelle Department Of Transportation will read this and apply the candy striping and appropriate signage. As a long-range goal, Federal Department of Transportation fence guidelines should be modified to allow for an angular design to provide for greater visibility. The Federal DOT and FRA are the agencies responsible for the track overpass guidelines.





A progression of photos showing that drivers on both Division Street and the Transportation Center exit ramp. Drivers cannot see around the I-95 fencing there and the subsequent corner just over the railroad tracks.

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