The Deadline Is Today
There are only a few hours remaining to tell the Department of Transportation what you think of their plans for stabilizing the escarpment below Promenade Hill and Hudson Terrace.
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| Photo: Scenic Hudson |
The original plan, which Gossips got wind of thanks to a reader back in July, was to cover the rock face with shotcrete, a kind of mortar applied with pressure hoses. Thanks to the intervention of Historic Hudson, Scenic Hudson, and Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton, there was a stop-work order, which unfortunately wasn't enforced until the unsightly shotcrete had already been applied to some of the rock face.
The proposal now is to use "sculpted, colorized" shotcrete and to plant vines at the top of the escarpment (nothing will grow on shotcrete) that would cascade down the cliff. The result promises to be something worthy of DisneyWorld.
Through today, Wednesday, October 11, the Department of Transportation is accepting public comments about the plan. It is important to urge DOT to consider carefully the impact of their stabilization efforts on the views of Hudson from the river and of the escarpment from Promenade Hill. Comments should also be directed to the Department of State, which must determine whether the work in consistent with New York State's Coastal Policies, urging that agency to take a close look at the proposed treatment and to make sure the remedy balances the need to stabilize the rock with preserving our city's unique assets. Comments should be copied to Ali Chaudhry, the governor's Assistant Secretary of Transportation. Here are the email addresses for all:
Department of Transportation: mark.jakubiak@dot.ny.gov
Department of State: matthew.maraglio@dos.ny.gov
Assistant Secretary of Transportation: ali.chaudhry@exec.ny.gov
Time is running out. If you haven't already done it, do it now.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK
If I had a car, or even access to a car, I'd have already photographed the wire mesh that CSX used on a Stockport cliff face about a half-mile north of the Station Road trestle (at Judson's Hook).
ReplyDeleteThe rock is shale, just like the Promenade, and has a parallel ancient fault line running through it. I asked around, but nobody I know with a car was interested.
The presenters at the recent meeting didn't seem to know anything about it.
Someone read the above and gave me a ride to Stockport (thanks!), where I took photos of that cliff's falling-rock solution.
DeleteWhatever the solution, safety should be the absolute first consideration. Aesthetics are important, but safety of the railway and it's passengers should come first.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, but now differentiate safety from cost, which is likely Amtrak's second concern.
DeleteI may be hopelessly cynical, but at their presentation at City Hall, the Amtrak officials listed their concerns about cost last (out of five items, if memory serves).
My comment may be too late (11:30pm), but this is the automatic response that I received from Mr. Chaudhry:
ReplyDelete"Please note that I will be out of my office and will have limited availability till October 24, 2015. Should you require immediate assistance, please contact Michael Wojnar at Michael.Wojnar@exec.ny.gov."
Oh dear.
I got the same automatic response when I submitted my comments earlier in the day. It was Scenic Hudson's suggestion to copy her on comments. I wasn't too concerned that she wasn't there is receive them, so long as the contacts at DOT and DOS received them.
DeleteThe 2015 date got my attention as well ...
DeleteHa! 2015! Not a problem however.
DeleteComments that were submitted at midnight were accepted by the DOT and DOS.