Are You Stuck in Route 9 Rush Hour Gridlock?

1) Thruway news on "New NY Bridge" construction work this week: On Wednesday, Dec. 18, and Thursday, Dec. 19, the southbound right-hand lane and shoulder on I-87/I-287 near exit 10 in Nyack will be closed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to allow for work on the Thruway Authority’s southbound maintenance ramp. 

Closer to home, have you tried to get from one village to the other lately during evening rush hour? Or even a few blocks? Citizens, and even Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell in the latest Board meeting, have been bemoaning a really rough traffic situation inching along Route 9 now that the South Broadway entrance ramp to the thruway is closed for the five-year duration of the project. 

Andrew Kritzer wrote on this post on Patch, "the closing of the bridge entrance is a real problem," a decision, he said, that "borders insanity."

Fixell said he spent 45 minutes getting from Sleepy Hollow to Tarrytown one Friday night, and trying to take a detour off Route 9 to Route 119 offered no movement either. Others on Facebook are citing upwards of two hours to get through the villages, in either direction. 

Village Administrator Mike Blau responded at the board meeting that he's brought this major issue to the attention of bridge team rep Brian Conybeare. 

Conybeare reportedly told Blau he is getting the Thruway and the State DOT to look into the possibility of longer green lights in the area of the closed ramp and jug-handle to the sole Route 119 Thruway entrance. The green light on South Broadway nearest the ramp had already been slightly lengthened, Conybeare told Blau. 

Bridge officials initially cited "comprehensive" traffic studies and anticipated only minor traffic increases when they made the move to close the ramp in early December. 

“Prior to the start of the New NY Bridge project, the Thruway conducted a comprehensive traffic study to determine the potential impact of closing Ramp E, and earlier this year TZC conducted an additional traffic study to verify its results,” a statement from the Thruway Authority said. “Findings from both studies indicate that the closure will not have a significant impact on traffic.”

What do you think? What's your drive through the villages been like lately? What's a possible solution?

2) Tarrytown Planning Board agenda for Wed, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. includes new and continued public hearings on:

• 21 Wildey Street LLC (Contract Vendee), 21 Wildey Street, Proposed two-story residential building with off-street parking. More on this item to come on Thursday.

• EF International, 100 Marymount Avenue, Conversion of Library to Dorms

• Wildey Group, 138 Wildey Street, Approval for a food establishment in the empty storefront (formerly cleaners). Could it be Subway or KFC? Read here.

3. WFAS—FM 103.9 and AM 1230—has long been the go-to place for weather-related delays and closings. They share their storm center with Channel 12.

4) A user's complaint on Patch about a local high school principal has spawned a community discussion about truth, lies and anonymity on the Internet, and a letter to parents from the school superintendent. 

5) An article about a local restaurant "rescued" by a Food Network show was the most popular post on Hudson Valley Patch sites yesterday.