Port Authority Taken To Task For Blackout Conditions On Henry Hudson Parkway Near George Washington Bridge
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Drivers are facing a dark and dangerous situation on the Henry Hudson Parkway.
Dozens of street lights are out and drivers say it has been this way for a while. So why haven't they been fixed and who's responsible?
We're talking about the Henry Hudson near the George Washington Bridge, where the state Department of Transportation, city DOT and Port Authority all govern. CBS2's Jessica Moore tracked down the agency responsible and after showing the problem it said it is going to fix things.
Mobile 2 navigated the dimly-lit ramp on the Henry Hudson from Riverside Drive to the GWB. Headlights were the only thing helping the vehicle navigate through concrete barriers and merging lanes.
Moore counted at least 37 street lights out on the inbound and outbound ramps from Riverside to the GWB and drivers said it has been that way for months
Felipe Rojas knows the struggle all too well.
"It's kind of dangerous, just because if you don't have correct vision at night you can just crash into someone else's car by accident and I've seen tons of times people swerve out of the way of other cars because of the lights," Rojas said.
When asked if she thinks it's safe, driver Luz Pena said, "No, it's not. It can't be safe. We need lights to be, you know, like clear."
Victor Rublio is a professional driver who said his most important job is being aware of his surroundings at all times.
"Without the lights, you don't know what's coming in front of you and it's dark," Rublio said.
The Port Authority told CBS2 the light fixtures are on its property, but Con Edison supplies the feed to illuminate them. The PA was apparently unaware of the problem until Moore brought it to its attention, at which point it said, "We are working closely with Con Edison to address this issue."
Drivers said instead of being reactive, the Port Authority should've been proactive.
"Prioritizing it, because if people get into crashes on the road that adds more to the congestion and adds more to the problems the city has to pay for and we end up having to pay for it, ourselves, so it just becomes a loop," Rojas said.
The drivers Moore spoke to said they're happy to hear the Port Authority is promising to take action, but they'll believe it when they see it.
Moore asked how often the lights are checked and what kind of timetable we can expect for when they might be repaired, but the Port Authority would not answer those questions.