Town Considers Closing Railroad Crossing 3 Years After Deadly Metro-North Crash
VALHALLA, NY. (CBSNewYork) -- Saturday marks three years since a Metro-North train slammed into an SUV and burst into flames at a crossing in Valhalla, killing six people and injuring more than a dozen others.
The deadly collision triggered a statewide safety assessment of all railroad upgrade crossings.
The Mount Pleasant town engineer determined Commerce Street, where the crash occurred, and Cleveland Street should be discontinued.
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Town Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said the town board is getting closer to a decision.
"We're going to be getting some more reports on traffic studies and then we'll open up another public discussion," Fulgenzi said. "We never closed the public hearing on it. We want everybody to have the opportunity to voice pros and cons about it before we make a final decision."
At public hearings, Fulgenzi said a majority of people would rather the Commerce Street crossing not be closed.
"We have to try to weigh the safety for everybody," Fulgenzi said. "We're not just talking about inconveniencing a group of homeowners in that area, we're talking about everyone that may cross that crossing."
"By closing Commerce Street that's a major commercial route. What are we going to do with that traffic?"
A petition to close the crossings would have to be approved by a judge.
A final decision could come in a few months.