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Existing roads in the former Fresh Kills Landfill that Borough President Molinaro wants opened up to the public.
Borough President James P. Molinaro wants the existing roads in the Fresh Kills Landfill open to commuter traffic by 2007. The roads will help relieve traffic congestion in Staten Island’s busy Richmond Avenue commercial district.
At Borough President Molinaro’s request, the Department of City Planning has included designs for roads in its “Fresh Kills End Use Master Plan.” Proposed designs for the landfill roads call for Scenic drives which may include Bicycle and Jogging paths. These new roads will provide an alternative to the heavily congested New Springville portion of Richmond Avenue, as well as Travis Avenue and Arthur Kill Road.
Closed in 2001, the former landfill contains East-West and North-South roads that were used by Department of Sanitation vehicles to travel around Fresh Kills when the landfill was in operation.
Now, Borough President Molinaro is advocating the idea of recycling the roads within the Fresh Kills Landfill for residents to use. “Opening up these roads makes sense” Molinaro said. “They already exist and do not pass through any residential neighborhoods. They will ease traffic between the Richmond Avenue shopping area in New Springville and the West Shore Expressway. To me, it would be senseless not to jump at this unique opportunity.”
Traffic continues to increase at a rate of up to 3% each year on Staten Island. With the highest car ownership rate in New York City, Staten Island needs to think outside the box when it comes to traffic solutions. Studies have shown that the new routes between Richmond Avenue and the West Shore Expressway through Fresh Kills would bring badly needed relief to Staten Island motorists.
