LOL - Madam X is worried about a seeing whether a fish or a boat is jumping out of the river and about to collide with traffic on the bridge -- that is why she doesn't like the new wall on the bridge.  

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

LOL - Madam X is worried about a seeing whether a fish or a boat is jumping out of the river and about to collide with traffic on the bridge -- that is why she doesn't like the new wall on the bridge.  

what about REMS and the paramedics?

I clearly stated my objections to the new bridge. Nobody said all bridges belong to the state. How many municipalities, ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, have bridges that go over railroad tracks. Only in Schenectady, it is a new thing, never encountered before, undoable. Every time. Perhaps for the astronomic taxes we pay we deserve office holders who make their responsibilities to the residents their first and only job, as that is what we pay them to do. It is not rocket science. If they can't manage, and Gary McCarthy evidently can't, they should step down.

Quoted from Madam X

Only in Schenectady, it is a new thing, never encountered before, undoable. ...

We had a similar standoff when the Hamburg St Bridge needed to be rebuilt.

I say, if the bridge is dangerous, trains should not be allowed to rumble under them.

Call it a safety issue.

That will get action from the railroad.

Quoted from Libertarian4life

We had a similar standoff when the Hamburg St Bridge needed to be rebuilt.

I say, if the bridge is dangerous, trains should not be allowed to rumble under them.

Call it a safety issue.

That will get action from the railroad.

the railroad? hahahahahahahahaha......they have the poorest upkeep record....they are HIGHLY subsidized and really
do nothing to keep up appearance in the towns/cities they rumble through....as if they are gods......

Quoted from senders

the railroad? hahahahahahahahaha......they have the poorest upkeep record....they are HIGHLY subsidized and really
do nothing to keep up appearance in the towns/cities they rumble through....as if they are gods......

The railroad gods used to "haul the world" from their Schenectady ALCO plant.

Schenectady's new motto:

Welcome to Schenectady, "the used to be" place.

never liked the bridge. too much bottle necking on the SCUMnectady side. avoided it at all costs. use Freeman's bridge instead.

Quoted from bumblethru

never liked the bridge. too much bottle necking on the SCUMnectady side. avoided it at all costs. use Freeman's bridge instead.

Freeman's Bridge means driving down Erie Blvd. AKA "Ruin Your Car Road."

It is ruin your car road. I used to drive that way frequently, in the really nice car I used to have.
As an aside, all the places where the roads and sidewalks were disturbed, in the Upper Union area, now have noticeable gas leaks. Whenever the streets get dug up for smaller jobs, I notice that National Grid has to come to the site and dig it up again, sooner or later. For instance, the intersection by the episcopal church, they had work done related to their new addition, days later the power company had to dig it up again. All the old gas lines are pretty much shot, as are the water lines. The gas line problem is not unique to Schenectady, but Albany's mayor finally took action when manhole lids kept blowing off into the air, with flames shooting up. We don't have flying manhole covers YET, so nobody will address the issue here ahead of time. I just hope no one gets killed or maimed first.

Quoted from Libertarian4life

Freeman's Bridge means driving down Erie Blvd. AKA "Ruin Your Car Road."

yes you will be on erie.....but depending on what direction you are coming from.....it may only be a couple of blocks on erie.

however....no matter where you drive your car in SCUMnectady....it's ALL a 'ruin your car road'......or a 'take your life in your hands road'.  

I noticed, after they "smoothed over" Union Street near the college, that I wasn't feeling pain! Seriously! It was like the moment, after you take Advil, when you notice your headache is gone.
The lack of competent snow removal caused me to have quite expensive repairs done to the undercarriage of my car, as well. How do you plow snow into a hard ridge in the middle of the street? Just like everything else our government is involved in, they like to pretend the job is undoable. Like nobody has ever been able to remove snow before.

Someone should be held accountable for lousy bridge design

Like most of the people who have written on the new “improved” Western Gateway Bridge, I am very disappointed with the new design of the eastbound side, which totally blocks the beautiful view of the Mohawk River. Even the criss-cross concrete design of the original bridge was better than what we now have.

It is also a very dangerous design due to a combination of no guardrails near the sidewalk and a very low curb. When the icy weather arrives, it will just be a matter of time before a motorist jumps the curb. Hopefully no pedestrians will be on the sidewalk when this happens.

What really bothers me is how the plans for this project were apparently never seen by anyone in authority who could have altered the design before it was set in stone. How could a project of this magnitude and cost not have been reviewed by a state or local planning board? It would be like having major renovations done to your home and telling the contractor to just go ahead and do what you want, and then hope for the best.

My belief is that the design was shown to someone in authority, and that person never bothered to notice wither the view-obstructing wall or the total lack of safety features. Someone should be held accountable for this huge mistake and that person should be fired. These are not minor mistakes and they will impact travel on the bridge for many years to come.

John Angilletta

Scotia

What an intelligent letter. This man probably holds down a job with a lot of responsibility himself.

Quoted from Libertarian4life

The railroad gods used to "haul the world" from their Schenectady ALCO plant.
Schenectady's new motto: Welcome to Schenectady, "the used to be" place.

Alot things in Schenectady used to be. Stores Downtown, shops Downtown, 2 party system, 50,000 jobs at GE, curb to curb garbage service, resale values above $10,000.
Yea, a City worker shlepped your cans from the back and returned them after pick up. Another great planning job from Death Ray. He saw the DOT plans but said nuthin. Kinda like retail-no? Re-elect who in tax hell?

Quoted Text

New bridge’s lighting is problematic as well

Two other issues about the new [Western Gateway] bridge I observed late the other evening:

A few pedestrians walking on the new completed side could hardly be seen because of the long shadowy areas. I consider this unsafe in many ways, aside from seeing one possibly falling into the roadway with no protective railing there, but also a setting for possible crime.

Lighting is from the usual institutional lights one sees on a highway. Wouldn’t it have been nice if they had continued with many light poles in the same style as one sees in Scotia and downtown Schenectady before heading west on the bridge? Is there any way we could still have more lighting put in?

Also, re the Sept. 20 Gazette editorial on graffiti around town, I already see some on the new bridge. Maybe it was easily done while in the dark shadowy areas I mentioned. One thing the graffiti demonstrates, though, is [consistent] with public opinion about the new bridge rails on the west side — “ugh.”

Linda Gaida

Glenville

Poor lighting on the bridge, but oh, we had to pay for UNNECESSARY FANCY lighting on Erie Blvd (while the DEM leaders ignore the long poor condition of Erie Blvd north of Liberty St which costs taxpayers even more due to damage to their cars)

Yep, Schenectady is improving  

Gee, on the 11th I was wondering about graffitti removal, and lo and behold, the wall which didn't need to be, has graffiti on it. Another intelligently written letter detailing legitimate concerns. The thing is, if someone had bothered to review this bridge IN THE PLANNING STAGE, as I stated, and Mr. Angiletti more clearly stated, this did not need to be. Changes could have been made that cost nothing, that met the needs of the people the bridge serves.
Didn't someone tell us most of the bridge is in Rotterdam? Doesn't Rotterdam have people pretending to know something about PLANNING?