EXCLUSIVE: Mounds Of Snow Cleared From Some Bus Stops In Clifton, Hackensack
HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - CBS 2 gets action for commuters in New Jersey.
On Friday, CBS 2 showed bus stops on Route 3 and Route 4 that were unplowed, potentially putting riders in danger.
As of Monday, at least one community sent out crews to clean up the mess.
But as CBS 2's Christine Sloan reported, riders on Route 3 in Clifton were still seen standing on piles of snow and in traffic lanes Monday afternoon.
It was a different scene at bus stops along Route 4 in Hackensack, N.J., where crews used a backhoe, shovels and salt to chip away at the ice on Monday.
"It's good that you guys are doing this because it's much safer for people," Hackensack resident Tony Serna said. "It was snow everywhere and it was slippery, it was very dangerous."
The stops on Route 3 in Clifton, N.J. are also used by NJ TRANSIT, Sloan reported.
The unplowed bus stops were located at:
- Route 3 at Passaic Avenue
- Route 3 on Main Avenue
- Clifton Commons
- Route 4 at Hackensack Avenue
NJ TRANSIT, the state Department of Transportation and the towns of Hackensack and Clifton all said they were not responsible for clearing the snow from the bus stops.
But after Hackensack's mayor watched Sloan's report on Friday, he decided to take action.
"It was quite dangerous and the city of Hackensack stepped up and we're doing the right thing to clean up this area. What we really want to find out is where the responsibility really lies. Surely if it's ours, we're going to take care of it . We don't know that it's ours," Mayor John Labrosse told Sloan.
Since the stops are on state highways, there seems to be some gray area surrounding who's responsible for snow removal.
On Friday, Sloan noted that bus stops on Route 17 in Paramus were clear.
The mayor there said his city is ultimately responsible. He said crews with the city's Shade Tree and Parks Commission removed snow from the sidewalks and a company that advertises on the bus shelters cleaned up inside, Sloan reported.
Riders applauded the city of Hackensack for removing the chunks of snow.
"It's about time that they did something," Nicole Ervine from Englewood told Sloan. "That's a good thing."
Clifton's mayor said he still doesn't know if removing the snow is the city's responsibility, but crews were sent out Monday to clear up two bus stops on Route 3.
The mayor said the city is reaching out to Clifton Commons to see if they will clear up the bus stop by their shopping plaza.
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