Snow falls, and then it melts, and then it floods, sometimes in the same week. A weekend storm that dropped about 6 inches of snow on the Highlands, and more upstate melted under 2 to 4 inches of rain overnight on Tuesday, resulting in widespread flooding. Heavy rain and wind is again predicted for tonight (Jan. 12).
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When the trains were stopped on Jan. 13 between Garrison and Beacon because of flooding, the MTA TrainTime app finally informed us at Cold Spring that buses would be substituted. But there were no details, and no announcements. Fortunately, an MTA police officer came by and advised everyone there were express buses from Croton-Harmon or Beacon.
I chose to go to Beacon and found the buses were actually shuttling between Beacon and Cortlandt. But there were only two buses running and they would be at least 45 minutes away. I decided to get back in my car and drive to Croton. I passed the buses south of Cold Spring, on their way back to Beacon. Other people decided to share cabs to Croton, at $20 per head.
I found a parking spot at Croton that was not underwater. Local service proceeded south from there. I got in close to noon. On the way back, after 5 p.m., service was close to normal, except I had to drive from Croton to Cold Spring. Meanwhile, I was wondering what passengers from Peekskill were doing — did they get their own shuttle? [via Facebook]
Metro-North needs to fix the flooding at the west parking lot of the Beacon train station. Unfortunately, due to the effects of climate change, severe flooding is no longer a once-in-a-decade occurrence. Last week, vehicles were covered with water up to their windows, and this has happened several times over the past year.
Until the situation is corrected, whenever severe weather is forecast, the west parking lot should be closed and drivers should be allowed to park in any available space in any part of the lot.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Metro-North have been heavily subsidized by the state. In addition, Dutchess County is part of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, which means that employers must pay the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility tax. Borrowers in the district are also subject to an additional 0.27 percent mortgage tax, which is equal to $270 for every $100,000 borrowed.
Given the limited service that Dutchess receives from Metro-North, and the extra taxes paid, the least we can expect is vehicles not being flooded at the train station.
Jacobson’s district in the state Assembly includes Beacon.