White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Neighbor Says City Has Long Been Advised of Traffic Speeding at Hit & Run Site.

WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VIEWS. December 6, 2005: A reader reacts to the hit and run death of a neighbor last Thursday evening at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and North Broadway/Westchester Avenue:

I am a 34-year White Plains resident, having grown up (and still residing)
on the North Broadway strip. I am also on the board of directors at
Broadpark Lodge, 2 Westchester Avenue and 292 Main Street.

Last Thursday night it saddened me to happen upon fellow residents and
emergency services surrounding a deceased neighbor lying at the corner of
Franklin and Westchester Avenues. A burst Stop & Shop bag laying aside the
white sheet that covered him, a pool of blood streaming downhill.

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The sadness was compounded by the fact that I wasn't extremely shocked at a
hit-and-run occurring on my block.

Out-of-control cars up Westchester Avenue towards the Main and Broadway
intersection are so frequent, we¹ve become numb to them here. It¹s very
likely the car that hit Mr. Morgan just blended in with the many others
through our windows earlier that night.

This has been a serious problem for years. And City Hall has been aware of
it.

More than a year ago, I brought the issue before the mayor at Common
Council. My plea was for measures to ensure peace and safety on this block
from inebriated revelers. The twofold problem of noise pollution and
pedestrian safety that I detailed were borne from the same causes: Alcohol
and speeders.

It's a commonplace scenario that takes place every party night
--Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays-- on this strip. When the fun subsides
at the local bars, revelers have two ways of egress: Screaming their way
through our parks at 3am, or, after a few drinks, screaming their car
engines and 'speedin¹ outta Dodge' via the Broadway Raceway.

It also had a simple, single solution: An occasional patrol car at Franklin
& Westchester Avenue, which I also proposed along with a "Quiet Zone" sign
for our block.

No action has been taken. My follow-up letter received no response.

I¹m apparently not alone in my effort: According to a News 12 report, a
neighbor has also written the Traffic Commission on this issue. For two
years. Unsuccessfully.

Now that a drunk driver has taken one of our neighbors, my questions to the
mayor and city administration are these:

How long would he like this scenario to continue?

Does this fall into the Mayor¹s category of ³minutiae,² as have other
traffic concerns?

Is this DWI death --and non-response to this constant lawlessness here--
just part of the city¹s "growing pains?"

Will he commit immediately to measures that ensure peace and safety for the
residents on this downtown strip?

The last is a question to which we the residents will accept nothing less
than a profound "yes."

Anthony L Pucca


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