Minutes of the Village Board Meeting

Statement of Trustee Edward E. White

The Deterimental Effect to Larchmont of the New England Thruway

March 7, 1955

Trustee White brought up for discussion the matter of the possibility of a detrimental effect to Larchmont of the New England Thruway construction, when it gets underway in Larchmont. He presented a memorandum on the subject, reading as follows:

We have had a great deal of discussion regarding the New England thruway and now we are about at the deadline when any action we take can be effective. The section of the thruway in our area will shortly be advertised for bids and we have little positive confirmation of the plan to be followed. Unfortunately the Thruway Authority is pursuing a policy of secrecy that needs to be clarified if we, the officials of the Village, are to have an understanding of the plans to be used.

From the preliminary plans and from the discussions at our meeting with Mr. Conrad Lang of the Thruway Authority and Mr. Robert Briggs, Consulting Engineer, we know that the Thruway will have a very detrimental effect on our community. For example, our station, which is one of the most attractive and best laid out stations in the county, will be changed very much for the worse. It is proposed to build the Thruway alongside the west bound New Haven platform with an expensive parking deck on top of the Thruway at the level of the present Chatsworth Avenue bridge. This parking deck is supported on steel columns with a concrete barrier wall separating the station platform from the roadway. They will be no access to the west bank station platform except by stairways, as no provision has been made for passengers who are unable to climb stairs and for baggage and mail. Mr. Briggs dismisses this as a railroad problem. It is certainly more than that; is definitely a Thruway problem and also a problem for every resident of Larchmont.

It is called not altogether clear to me why the old route away from the station was abandoned in favor of the present expensive and destructive plan. Our recent meeting with the railroad has shown that they also are at a loss to understand the present proposed location. If the present scheme cannot be changed to the old route, there are several changes that should be made to provide a more convenient station. For example:

1. Some thought should be given to moving the Thruway to the north to permit room for an access road between the station platform and the Thruway, so that passengers, mail and baggage can be unloaded at the railroad platform level. An alternate plan to the roadway will be to provide escalators from the upper plaza to the station platform. At our last meeting the New Haven Railroad Chief Engineer stated that this would not be their obligation. By shortening the upper plaza, it will be possible to build an escalator at no additional cost to the project. The parking area lost by this change can be revamped by using the county land to the north of the station.

2. We have discussed moving the principal station building from the parking deck to the platform level where three long narrow shelters are to be provided. The road should be moved so that these stations will have an adequate width.

3. The disturbance to the community during construction is not being minimized by the Thruway. There is no good reason why Weaver Street should be closed during the construction of the new Weaver Street bridge causing the thousands of cars per day that use Weaver Street to be relocated to roads over a half a mile away. A temporary bridge should be provided to maintain this traffic on Weaver Street.

4. The present plan contemplates relocating the westbound platform toward Weaver Street during construction. This causes what seems to me to be an unnecessary inconvenience to our community and expense to the taxpayer. I can assure you that the contractor can arrange his construction in such a way so as not to interfere with the operation of the present platform location.

The overhead parking deck is entirely in the Village of Larchmont. The highly expensive parking lot requires no little maintenance expense. We should have a determination that the Thruway will maintain these areas to the satisfaction of the Village. We will also need an understanding regarding who will collect parking meter fees if meters are installed in this parking area.

5. We should also have the assurance that a foot bridge will be built over the railroad at the east end of the overhead parking deck to reduce the stair climbing by commuters coming from New York who park their cars on the overhead parking deck.

There has been some comment to the effect that various municipal boards should not interfere with the planning of the Thruway. Despite comment to the contrary, the interest of the Thruway and the Village are not always compatible. It is our obligation to protect the interests of our communities even though we have to criticize or question the actions of the Thruway.

In view of these important questions and others that might arise, I suggest that the Board, by resolution, authorize that a meeting be arranged at once with the proper Thruway authorities who can resolve these questions.

After lengthy discussions on this matter, it was moved by Trustee Coffinberry, seconded by Trustee Monte-Sano and carried,

That Mr. Conrad Lang, Chief Engineer of the New York State Thruway Authority be requested to arrange a meeting with the Board of Trustees, and Mr. W. Robert Briggs, Consulting Engineer on the Thruway, to discuss certain items of the Thruway construction in Larchmont which have not been resolved to the satisfaction of the Board members, and that such meeting be arranged before any contracts are let for said portion of the Thruway affecting Larchmont.

Further,that Mr. Harrold Bozell and Assemblyman Hunter Meighan also be invited to lend their support to said meeting.