Monsey, NY – Ricki Weiss regularly walks on the shoulder of Route 59, pushing her two youngest kids in a stroller while her 3- and 4-year-old tag along.
It’s tough enough to travel and shop with young children, but Weiss also has to worry about her family getting hit by a passing car.
There are almost no sidewalks on Route 59 between Robert Pitt Drive and Route 306, but there are a grocery store, loads of shops and service businesses that draw people from the nearby neighborhood. Seeing women pushing strollers on either side of Route 59 is commonplace.
“It’s very nerve-wracking, especially with small kids,” Weiss said.
It’s worse when it rains since pedestrians have to trek through puddles, and worse yet in the snow when there is less shoulder to walk on due to plowed snow.
The state Department of Transportation is now considering whether to install sidewalks along that stretch of road, which is about three-tenths of a mile long and used by some 20,000 cars daily.
Since 2006, one Monsey woman has been killed and several pedestrians have been injured along that part of the state road.
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One Response
If each family chipped in and paid for paving one section they could probably do the whole thing withiout government intererence.
If they do it privately with private property, they might not have to pay taxes on it as they most likely will, if the government does it.
And if the government does it, it will probably be behind schedule and over budget as such things usually are, from the government.