To the editor:
This is in response to last week's
letter to the Gazette by
the Rev. Anthony Stephens regarding the Toughman race.
Perhaps it is good to get his racer's
perspective on the
Toughman event, but Pastor Stephens is oblivious to the chaos
that goes on in
his environs when he says that there is a "modicum of
inconvenience" to
the community.
While few of us would want to face the
challenge of running
in the race, none of us would want to face the challenge,
confusion, and
frustration of trying to reach our destination while standing
in Croton
traffic.
Rev. Stephens says he is proud of the
number of outsiders
participating in the race, and quotes scripture to "welcome
the
stranger". But
it is hardly a
welcome to the motorists who, having entered the unfamiliar
streets of Croton, cannot
find their way out of it.
He should consider the more prominent
biblical admonition to
"Love your neighbor".
Dick Nagle has done a great job
documenting the plight of
motorists caught in the traffic mess with his pictures and
narratives. Even
the well paid policemen directing
traffic seem less prepared to handle the traffic than the
drivers who they are
supposed to be helping. No one, of
course, has the nerve to blow their horns.
But what is most distressing, is that
there is no need to
have any of this disruption of Croton traffic to run the
race!!!
Barriers could be placed in the center
southbound lane of
the 9/9A bridge separating vehicular traffic from the bikers.
Traffic could then take Rte. 9A south
from Peekskill
to the bridge and continue on Rte 9 to Ossining.
And if runners and bikers used the
northern lane of Croton Point Ave.
it would free up the 7 lanes of traffic on the south side: 2 lanes to the
Croton RR Station, 3 lanes to
Rte 9, and the 2 lanes to the Shop Rite shopping center.
Is there any way to convince the Village
and the DOT to stop
this needless closing down of the entire western half of Westchester
for 8 hours every year??!
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With the route proposed, where do runners/bikers go in Ossining on Route 9? I am confused... sounds like tje problem of messed up traffic is then expanded to include North Highland Avenue and southwards? If yes, Ossining would need to get on the "gravy train" that is Tough Man (tongue in cheek).
ReplyDeleteI'm just so TIRED OF BEING INCONVENIENCED, I no longer care where they stick it. As long as it is nowhere in westchester.
ReplyDeleteI though I'd let everyone know that pro Toughman people are asking why everyone isn't all outraged over Summerfest or the Harry Chapin Run Against Hunger. What craptrap. For one thing, Summerfest does not inconvenience the whole county and the Chapin charity event is in Croton and doesn't inconvenience the whole county as well. Almost ALL the money from the Chapin run really goes go to charity and as for Summerfest, it is a boon to local businesses, instead of a detriment like the Toughman is. People who can't see the difference are just grasping at straws. If they want people to buy into this crap, they can put a letter in the paper defending the Toughman. We haven't seen many of those have we and there's a good reason why.
ReplyDeleteWe were just talking about this the other day and what a pleasure it is not to be inconvenienced by it any more for years now.
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