City Island brothers are pressuring the city to repair Shore Road following a recent accident.
James and Thomas Breen recorded running water and icy road conditions on Shore Road at the northernest roadway curve just south of the Westchester County line.
In the video posted on their Shore Road Facebook page, motorists driving southbound on Shore Road veer into the northbound lane to avoid standing water, slush and ice accumulating in their lane.
They posted a similar video on Vimeo.
Both videos received 5,000 views and have been shared by various Facebook groups.
Residing just north of the city, the Breens use Shore Road daily when visiting their parents on the island.
They have observed water flowing across its pedestrian and bike paths and the roadway with some of it hardening into ice before it reaches the nearby bay.
“I’ve seen (drivers) cross over the yellow line or stop (short) just as they see the water and almost get (rear-ended),” shared James.
City Island resident Charles Boudreau was involved in an ice-related accident on Shore Road on Monday, February 5 at 5:10 p.m.
According to Boudreau, he was traveling behind another car on the flooded portion of the road when a coyote darted out in front of the first driver.
That driver slammed on his brakes to avoid striking the animal.
Boudreau, who was travelling at the speed limit and wearing a seat belt, had plenty of time to stop, but lost control of his truck on the slick roadway.
His truck spun out and flipped onto its side, fortunately missing the motorist and the coyote.
Boudreau, who uses Shore Road for his daily work commute to New Rochelle and Rye, was not harmed, but his truck was totaled.
“Every time it rains or snows, that part of the road is always flooded and it doesn’t help that the (drainage) pipe leading out to the bay is clogged most of the time,” he said. “I just want to see them fix this road because one day someone is going to get killed there.”
After sending the video to the Bronx NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Nivardo Lopez, Thomas was told by the agency that it would monitor the situation.
On Monday, February 12 when the temperature was below freezing the city salted the roadway, but Thomas said the effort only prevented some of the ice from forming.
According to Thomas, Lopez explained that “the city has hired a consulting design firm to develop design and cost out the repairs to Shore Road.”
“Due to lack of sewer infrastructure the only way to mitigate the flood is with a capital project,” Thomas said he was told.
The Breens asked Lopez if Shore Road’s renovation will make this year’s budget, but were told DOT does not yet have the plan or price established.
A NYC Parks spokeswoman said Parks has experienced ongoing issues with water pooling at the aforementioned location which happens because water naturally flows in Pelham Bay Park from the upland areas on the west side of Shore Road out to the lagoon in the east.
Parks and NYC Department of Design and Construction are currently conducting a study to identify a permanent solution.
Meanwhile, Parks staff have been assigned to clean out the culverts to alleviate as much roadway flooding as possible.
To view the Breens’ video, visit www.vimeo.com/
