'We'll Believe Enforcement is the Policy in Croton When We See It'

Remember that strip mall at the foot of Maple Street (Route 129) in Croton? The one so badly designed that vehicles blatantly park anywhere and everywhere, even on the sidewalk and on the tiny strips of grass struggling to survive? Yet Croton does nothing to stop them.

After two years of vain waiting something is finally about to happen. A “sidewalk and landscape improvement project” grant has finally been issued by New York State. Because Route 129 is a state highway, Croton is now awaiting a work permit from the Department of Transportation to “replace the sidewalk, add curbing and provide a defined parking plan” for the area in front of the vacancy-prone strip mall at the intersection of Hudson and Maple streets.

The potential for accident or injury to pedestrians at this strip mall always could have been reduced if the village had only enforced its own laws. Over the years, Croton has turned a blind eye to violations when vehicles regularly parked on the sidewalk. In fact, many vehicles, including large pickup trucks, still straddle the sidewalk.

Such violations block safe passage by pedestrians, forcing them to detour around the illegal parkers and walk through the vehicle parking area. This puts them in danger of being struck by vehicles. In the meantime, Croton’s parking enforcement people are busy enforcing parking violation in Croton Commons and the Van Wyck shopping center, two nearby private areas policed by Croton’s parking enforcement people.

Crotonblog reserves judgment on this long-awaited project. If the curbing is not unusually high, we predict that the violators will be back even before the concrete has set. But will such blatant violations then draw a citation from Croton’s parking enforcement people? What’s your guess?

Related:

• “Why Is Croton So Selectively Enforcing Its Laws, Mr. Mayor?,” July 8, 2007
• “Yoo Hoo! Mayor Schmidt. Your Slip Is Showing!,” July 4, 2007
• “The Disaster at the Intersection of Routes 9A and 129 in Croton,” June 26, 2007

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