It is over a year that St. Paul Avenue was reversed without the knowledge of the community. We, the residents of Pelham Bay became aware of the reversal after it was done. Two separate petitions were submitted after the reversal, angrily objecting to the change of direction of half of St. Paul Ave. without the taxpaying residents having a voice in opposition. 640 taxpaying Pelham Bay residents signed petitions stating their vehement disapproval for what was unfairly done to our community.
The result of the change in direction of half of St. Paul Avenue is three streets: Continental, St. Paul and Colonial avenues, all facing the same way. Before the reversal, 50% of the traffic made a right turn on St. Paul Avenue and 50% of the traffic made a right turn on Burr Avenue. Now, without the benefit of an impact study on the detrimental effect of the St. Paul Avnue reversal, 100% of the traffic, against the will of the Pelham Bay residents, 100% of all the traffic is forced, and mandated to make a right turn on Burr Avenue. Burr Avenue has tandem buses making a right turn on their street., many times two and three tandem buses are backed up. Tandem buses never traveled up St. Paul Avenue. Now buses, trucks, and every single motor vehicle must make a right turn on Burr Avenue.
Residents on Burr Avenue cannot back out of their driveways because of the speeding traffic, or the standstill, bumper to bumper, backed up traffic from Pelham Bay station all the way back to Pelham Parkway. Burr Avenue, in one short year, has had several accidents because of the tremendous intensity of all the traffic forced onto Burr Avenue
Burr Avenue forcibly inherited St. Paul’s problem. St. Paul Avenue should have asked for speed humps, full stop signs, the bus stop moved across the street. and even a traffic light. Instead, they selfishly chose to dump their problem on Burr Avenue. The other half of St. Paul Avenue is getting all the traffic that make a right turn onto the two way street of 196th Street and then a left turn on St. Paul Avenue to get to Westchester Avenue. Traffic wishing to avoid the backup and total disaster at Pelham Bay station, make a right turn onto the two way street of 196th Street and are dangerously confronted by traffic from 196th Street making a right turn onto Burr Avenue.
Are you totally confused? So are we, the taxpaying residents of Pelham Bay. We are confused at how this was allowed to happen in the first place. Trying to get to Westchester Avenue is like driving in a maze For the convenience of one half of St. Paul Avenue, the entire community is being inconvenienced. Hopefully, now that the ramp onto I-95 North from Pelham Parkway will be opened through the efforts of Senator Jeff Klein, the traffic coming through our Pelham Bay streets will be reduced and St. Paul Avenue can be reversed back so that everyone in the community will be happy and not just the residents of one half of St. Paul Avenue. Every single street is now overwhelmed with speeding cars due to over-development. We can all work together to get speed bumps, full stops signs, and solutions to improve the safety of all our streets.
Our next PBTCA will be held in September. During the summer, get together with friends and write letters, make phone calls to 311 and ask to be connected to the department you want to complain about, ask for your confirmation number so your complaint is on record. Demand safer streets, demand amendments to the zoning laws to halt the overdeveloplment, demand that our green streets must not be destroyed by further construction of building development. and demand that everyone stop messing with the taxpaying residents of our entire community. If you do, you will be confronted with the strength and determination of World War II. We will stop the invasion of our communities. Our goal is: Saving All our Neighborhoods and Environment. S.A.N.E. solutions –not insane proposals!
