Traffic Headache at Scarsdale Station

The railroad arrived in Scarsdale in 1846 and by 1877 train service to Scarsdale was reliable and regularly scheduled. The present day station was completed in 1902. Then, the village had 885 inhabitants and today, the town has more than 17,000 residents. Parking and traffic around the station have always been a matter for concern for Scarsdale; it has been referred to as Scarsdale's 'number - one headache'.

The headache continues, and any changes at the station have a domino effect on the traffic around it. All roads leading to the Scarsdale station especially during rush hours are stressful. A surge in cars arriving at the station to pick up and drop off train passengers leads to extremely slow traffic movement on the East Parkway from Popham to Chase Roads. One of the trickiest places to navigate is the East Parkway in front of Starbucks at the station. Despite visible no parking signs, drivers line up in the lane, to drop off and pick up train commuters. When the train arrives, the place becomes messier because pedestrians get the right of way to cross, cars get backed up till merchant parking and beyond, and everyone tries to disperse at the same time.

A few months ago when the staircase that led up from the inbound train platform was closed, it resulted in additional pedestrian traffic at the Starbucks end. And in November, when the bus stop moved from its previous location (ahead of the stop sign at the station), chaos reigned supreme in front of Starbucks. Cars not aware of the change parked at the new bus stop and buses had to wait till they moved; meanwhile other cars also jammed up the narrow road. The queues for bus and taxis added to the crowd of people in front of Starbucks. Having the traffic control car did not help in alleviating the confusion.

Is this permanent? We caught up with the Village Manager's office to get some answers! According to the office, the East Parkway steps will be back in service by the end of the calendar year. The stairway was closed for repairs and the new stairs will be made of galvanized steel that will ensure less wear and tear from the weather elements. The bus stop had to be temporarily moved in front of Starbucks because it was adjacent to the steps construction zone. It will move back to its previous location once the steps re-open.

Work on the staircase has however been halted temporarily because MTA insisted that a 'force account' be created. This was to ensure that the train tracks will not be damaged while the staircase is being built. Negotiations between the Village and MTA have brought down the amount from $25,000 to $12,600, and a MTA representative will be onsite to ensure safety of the train tracks.

When asked if there were plans to streamline the traffic during rush hours, the Village Manager's office said, 'There is no room in the Village Center to create a satisfactory drop-off and pick-up area. Most of our resident commuters park in the Village at our commuter lots, but a number are dropped off and picked up. The busy periods are short in duration and are not unlike all small towns and villages in Westchester with train stations.'

Indeed it is quite impressive that the area around the station can handle this increased pressure. Back in the late 1890s the trains stopped only once in the morning and once in the evening at the Scarsdale station and people paid an extravagant 50 cents for a one-way jolting, uncomfortable journey. Now the station handles more than 30 trains during the peak hours alone, and Scarsdale's daily ridership is about 4,200, second only to White Plains on the Harlem Line.

The bus passengers don't mind the change for now - they have a roof over their heads for the coming winter's rain and snow, as they wait for the buses to take them home. And the cars have found other ways to handle the changes. The new waiting spots are in front of the East Parkway steps, and more cars drive up on Spencer Place and use the stop sign at East Parkway to pick up and drop their passengers.

Author Preeti Singh co-manages thegoodbookcorner.com a space for book reviews and author interviews. Her work includes Unravel, Great Books for Children and Smart Beginnings. Preeti has worked as a Content Head, an Acquisitions Editor and a Project Manager with various publishing houses in India, including Disney Publishing, Popular Prakashan and ACK-Media. Preeti's articles have been published in The Scarsdale Inquirer, HuffPost, The Medium, dnaindia.com, Mid-Day, IndiaAbroad and talkingcranes.com. You can reach Preeti at [email protected].