The Pelham Bay Taxpayers & Civic Association was revitalized after St. Paul Avenue between Pelham Parkway So. and E. 196th was reversed. Cars in the neighborhood could no longer make a right turn on St. Paul Avenue to get to Westchester Avenue. This reversal was done without the knowledge of the entire community. Only three people in opposition were at the meeting. Everyone else was from St. Paul Avenue. This reversal was done without an impact study on the safety of the adjacent streets and especially to Pelham Bay Station.
Now that Plummer Pavilion is nearing completion, ambulances, delivery trucks, employees and visitors will be added to the already disastrous traffic on Burr Avenue besides the constant flow of tandem buses. Burr Avenue was not designed for such a heavy load of traffic.
Pelham Bay is saturated with buses from every direction. Buses from Westchester County, City Island, Orchard Beach, Fordham, Co-op City, Westchester Square, and Manhattan. All of these buses converge onto Pelham Bay Station and criss-cross each other to get into their lanes. They are also competing with 100% of cars, trucks and tandem buses coming through the full stop sign at Burr and Westchester avenues trying to avoid getting stuck with the red light. At this same area, there is a no parking right hand lane that no one pays any attention to and everyone from Burr Ave has to manipulate their autos around the parked cars. A lot of horn blowing, cursing and middle fingers pointed at one another goes on. Definitely not a happy place.
Cars park alongside the Pelham Bay Station waiting for friends or relatives to be picked up from the subway. Trying to cross at this intersection is taking your life into your own hands.
The taxpaying residents of Pelham Bay are frustrated and losing patience waiting for the D.O.T. study. We would all love to live on a quiet, residential street with very little traffic that would not be dangerous for adults to cross and children to play. However, that is why we have gated communities. Gated communities pay astronomical real estate taxes. We in Pelham Bay are fortunate that we have a playground plus the biggest park in the city where children can play.
Because of over development in all of our communities, every single street is now unsafe, with too many autos hurriedly speeding through. As a community we must fight over development and work together to make every street in our neighborhood safe for all our children. The most severe traffic problem is the 100% of traffic through Burr Avenue onto Pelham Bay Station.
