It’s been a fight ten years in the making between the Town of Marlborough and CSX Railroad to establish a safe and secure crossing into the Milton Landing Park. The conflict finally spilled over into court last week.

The case was heard by the Alicia McNally, Administrative Law Judge for the Department of Transportation [DOT], with their Associate Attorney Donna K. Hintz conducting the questioning. Supervisor Al Lanzetta represented the people of Marlborough and Regional Manager Robert Rohauer appeared on behalf of CSX Transportation.

Lanzetta said after the town purchased the Milton Landing property in 2009, a dialogue began with CSX over the inadequacies of the present crossing that to date remains unresolved. Initially, Lanzetta requested that CSX add cross-arms, warning lights, bells and a gate to only allow access for CSX and emergency vehicles. He said a second crossing was proposed south of the present one, nearer the restored train station, to let pedestrians enter the park.

Lanzetta said this has just been changed; “to have one central location 25 feet or so away from the curve [of Dock Road] where the existing at-grade crossing is and have a gated, safety regulated crossing there and abandoning the pedestrian crossing further to the south. The Town would be very happy if that was accomplished.” He said at every step CSX has prevented this from happening. By way of example Lanzetta said last spring CSX replaced tracks at the crossing but took six months to properly rebuild and pave it, preventing emergency vehicles and the public from safely entering the park during the summer months. He said at other times CSX has been a friend to the town by donating to the rehabilitation of the Milton Train Station.

Lanzetta noted that New York State has invested a significant amount of money in the park area.

“The purchase of the property back in 2009 was for $1 million and $500,000 of that was state money from Parks and Recreation and the other $500,000 was from Scenic Hudson,” he said. Lanzetta said the town has also recently received $313,000 from the Governor that will be used to start the repairs on the south pier that juts out into the Hudson River.

Lanzetta hopes CSX would install, maintain and pay for all of the alterations at the proposed new crossing.

“It always comes back to the safety issue. We’re making this a destination where people can come and we want to make sure it’s safe and we’re doing all the right things to make that happen,” he said. “We’ve really been trying to be very patient and I think we’ve been doing that for the last ten years dealing with CSX. We would really like to see this happen and work with the Department of Transportation and CSX. It would be a great accomplishment for the Town of Marlborough.”

Robert Rohauer, Regional Manager of Community Affairs and Safety for CSX Railroad, said on average 30 to 35 freight trains pass through this crossing in a 24 hour period, each with 100 to 150 cars per train. Projections show that more trains are expected in the future.

Rohauer said if a new crossing is approved the first step would be to start a preliminary engineering design plan, incorporating input from the DOT and the Town of Marlborough.

“Once that is vetted and agreed upon, then the next step would be to go to construction, so anything that would require modification to the crossing surface, or warning devices as being proposed with lights and gates; all of that work would be done by CSX,” he said, adding that CSX would not pay for the modifications but would maintain the crossing after it is operational.

Rohauer said CSX opposes establishing new crossings, “anywhere in our network,” and instead favors a grade separation crossing. This means constructing an overhead bridge for people to walk over the tracks and into the riverfront park. He said the odds of this option are “pretty slim” because of the topography at and near the crossing and the significant cost of building a bridge over the tracks. He said constructing a single crossing must have the goal of providing safety for pedestrians and for the operation of the trains.

Gary Hart, Regional Railroad Coordinator for the New York State Department of Transportation, oversees safety for all rail crossings in the Hudson Valley. He said his job is to, “make sure the regulatory process is followed and the best interest of the public safety is achieved.”

Hart agrees with the conceptual plan being proposed of a single crossing relocated 25 feet south of the current one. He said DOT would provide funding for the upgrade and would make sure that all possible industry standard safety measures are employed at the new crossing.

“We’re going to provide safer pedestrian access while restricting unwanted vehicular access to this location,” he said.

Lou Frangella, Grade Crossing Specialist for the Federal Railroad Administration [FRA], has also been involved in this project for a decade. He supports the new single grade pedestrian crossing but suggested the instillation of an 8 ft. fence on the river side of the tracks only if another one is placed on the western side of the tracks. He said this would “channel” people to the new crossing and prevent people from trying to cross the tracks at dangerous locations.

Town Councilman Alan Koenig opposes fencing on the western side because it would create an “alley” that could prove unsafe for pedestrians.

Milton Train Station Foundation member Cindy Lanzetta said the community supports the use of the new park that is part of the landing area.

“We’ve already put a 10 year commitment into this property and it’s really going to be a jewel and an economic linchpin to our community, so I really hope that anything that you do to help us continue to improve this site would be most appreciated,” she said.
Jeffrey Anzevino, Director of Land Use Advocacy for Scenic Hudson, said his organization strongly supports the town’s efforts to create this singular crossing where residents can get to the Hudson River; the only river access along the town’s six miles of waterfront and the only public entry along a 15 mile stretch of the Hudson River shoreline.

“Connecting people to the Hudson River is not only central to Scenic Hudson’s mission, it’s also increasingly relied upon by riverfront communities, large and small between New York City and Albany, as a means of increasing economic vitality and resiliency,” he said. “The Town of Marlborough is no exception.”

Anzevino said railroad policy continues to cut people off from the river by erecting impasse fencing, locked gates and guardrails.

“The death by 1,000 cuts is incrementally reducing people’s ability to connect with the river and it’s hampering local economic development in riverfront communities,” he said.

Anzevino suggested reconsidering an 8 foot high fencing because it will block the views of the river from the western side of the Milton Landing Park.

Anzevino urged the NYS DOT to grant Marlborough’s request for a new crossing, pointing out that pubic access to the historic Hudson River is a “rare commodity” that is very important for the Town of Marlborough.

Judge McNally said a decision on this case will be issued within 60 days.