Residents feel the squeeze
Say new sidewalk on Pelham Parkway South makes road too narrow
RESIDENTS on Pelham Parkway South say a new sidewalk on the service road is cramping their style because it made the road too narrow.
Homeowners have hung bedsheets over their garages scrawled with messages like “Safety is in Danger” and “New Road is Too Narrow.”
“It’s beginning to be unsafe,” said Vincent Parlo, 58, who lives on Pelham Parkway South near Eastchester Road.
The road lost 4 feet of width when a sidewalk was installed on the north side of the street, Parlo said, and “It’s hard to get out of the driveway.”
“God forbid the fire department or police tries to get through,” said Lisa Kalaja, who lives on the block. An oil truck delivery would render the road impassable, she said.
John Fratta, assisant district manager for Community Board 11, said the new sidewalk is required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act if parking remains allowed on the road’s north side. Residents don’t want to lose the parking. The road is now 28 feet wide, which is standard in the city, Fratta said.
Both Parlo and Kalaja are among residents who incurred expenses when workers took down structures that extended onto city property. Workers dismantled walls on both of their properties, costing each of them about $20,000.
Things have gotten so heated that one resident was arrested March 23 on a charge of obstructing governmental administration. He allegedly blocked a traffic enforcement agent from closing the door of her tow truck, a complaint states. The agent was towing an unknown person’s car from a temporary “no standing” zone set up during construction.
Fratta said the board has fought hard since 1986 for the ongoing upgrades because the road is dangerous.
“People were getting killed,” Fratta said.
Without guard rails along the stretch, out-of-control cars have often struck trees in the grassy median between the main and service roads, Fratta said. Flooding was also a problem, and new catch basins will resolve it, Fratta said.
If the sidewalk were removed, the catch basins would need to be reinstalled. The year-long work on the service road, slated to end in a month, would start from scratch, costing about $14 million, Fratta said.
“That’s not going to happen,” Fratta said. “There’s really no solution to the problem.”
A spokesman for the Department of Transportation said in an email, “We are doing our utmost to be responsive to community concerns and to ensure that the improved Pelham Parkway South is accessible for all area residents.”
CB 11 has arranged a meeting between residents and city officials involved in the project on April 9 at 7 p.m. at Jacobi Hospital.