Westchester County Executive George Latimer hosted the first Bronx River Parkway Traffic Safety Task Force meeting, beginning the process of reviewing all entrance and exit ramps on the Parkway in an effort to reduce wrong-way driving incidents. The Task Force, made up of New York State elected officials, members of the Board of Legislators, one member of the Latimer administration and two citizen-commuters, will examine potential problem spots on the Bronx River Parkway which may have contributed to a wrong-way driving incident.
Latimer said: “We wanted to activate this Task Force immediately to try and come up with common sense solutions we could take action on right away, such as new signage leading up to the entrance and exit ramps on the Bronx River Parkway. Our top priority will always be the safety of our residents, and with this Task Force in place, we will be able to cut down on the number of instances where drivers find themselves on the wrong side of the road, a potentially life-threatening situation.”
The Task Force comes on the heels of a wrong-way driving incident in Harrison, which the County’s Department of Public Works and Transportation is in the process of reviewing. The Bronx River Parkway Task Force members are as follows:
Erin O’Shea, Chair, Deputy Commissioner of Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities
Vedat Gashi, Westchester County Legislator, CLD 4
Colin Smith, Westchester County Legislator, CLD 1
Thomas Abinanti, New York State Assemblyman, 92nd A.D.
Shelley Mayer, New York State Senator, 37th S.D.
Stephen Wagner, Yonkers, Armour Villa Neighborhood Association
Stacy Fisher, Greenburgh, Hartsdale Neighbors Association