THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR TRAFFIC REPORT. By John F. Bailey. January 18, 2006: He cautions not to go out because “you’ll get stuck in traffic.” Our correspondent said Mamaroneck Avenue is closed Northbound at Ridgeway, and Old Mamaroneck Road is closed, forcing him into numerous cuts through sidestreets, many of which were closed.

Traffic is a mess throughout the city, a motorist reports after returning home moments ago. In attempting to motor from the southern border of the city to Silver Lake, a 15 minute ride at best, beginning at 11:45 this morning,  he reported Ridgeway and Old Mamaroneck Road closed, forcing him to detour into side streets. He said Bryant Avenue was closed at Mamaroneck Avenue. He said a number sideroads in the Highlands were blocked with police tape and could not be used as detours. He said it took him a half hour to travel from the Rosedale and Mamaroneck Avenue area to the North Street bridge at I-287.

He cautions not to go out because “you’ll get stuck in traffic.” Our correspondent said Mamaroneck Avenue is closed Northbound at Ridgeway, and Old Mamaroneck Road is closed, forcing him into numerous cuts through sidestreets, many of which were closed.

The White Plains Traffic Department said as of 2:45 P.M. only one traffic light was out in the city at Mamaroneck and Quarropas but no list of closed streets had been compiled yet. The Mayor’s office reported that the Eastview School area and the Greenridge Avenue were without power, but had no reports of others. The Traffic Department confirmed downed wires could not be removed by the WPPFD until Con Edison turned off the power. The Traffic Department did report that power seemed to be restored to early intersections where a traffic light was out at Harding Avenue. No other information was available.

A call has been put into the busy Police Department for a complete list of street closings as the rush hour approaches.

WPCNR WEATHER SCOOP. From White Plains CitizeNetReporters. January 18, 2006 UPDATED 2 P.M. E.S.T. : Jim Benerofe, speaking from his office in downtown White Plains described traffic “as a mess” in White Plains. He reported power out, trees down and wires down in a number of areas of the city: Central Avenue (City Limits was closed, no power), Battle Hill, Bryant Avenue, North Broadway and the southern end of Mamaroneck Avenue, saying he saw crews out tending to downed sparking wires. Motorists are advised to avoid unnecessary travel and allow extra time to reach destinations.

The Mayor’s Office as of 2:30 reports that the  Eastview School area had no power and the Greenridge Avenue area had no power, but did not have any other areas to report.

A White Plains motorist  living in Rocky Dell reported that her school in Scarsdale had closed  this morning because of a lack of power. She reported a tree down across Soundview, OId Mamaroneck Road had a blockage, and she had to zig-zag all the way.

Another resident in Soundview, on Midchester Avenue called WPCNR at 2 P.M. to say that though her power was on, the wire on Midchester Avenue was still spitting sparks and that the Department of Public Safety could not remove it until Con Edison turned off the power. She said she was told there was no indication on when that would be. This may be the problem with additional downed wires throughout the city.

Westchester County Department of Communications reports there were scattered power outages throughout the region. Hardest hit are: Tuckahoe, Ossining, Mt. Vernon, Greenburgh, Yorktown, Davenport area of New Rochelle, Battle Hill area in White Plains, Tarrytown, Warburton area in Yonkers.

       Con Edison reported 16,000 customers without power as of 9 a.m. and the number is climbing. All power is not expected to be restored until tomorrow. Crews are working to restore power.

        New York State Electric and Gas reported 7,000 customer outages as of 11:30 a.m. Outages in all service areas including: North Salem, South Salem, Bedford, Pound Ridge, Lewisboro, Yorktown and Somers

     Westchester County is urging people to limit their travel and not to drive over downed wires. Bee-line buses and para-transit are operating with countywide delays and detours. Westchester County Airport remains open, but there are widespread cancellations. Check with your carrier for delays.

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Road conditions/closings as of 11 a.m.

Tappan Zee Bridge – As of 10:30 a.m. both lanes reopened.

Saw Mill River Pkwy. – Closed in both directions between exits 27 and 29 in Mt. Pleasant due to flooding. In New Castle, closed in both directions at Route 120. Northbound ramp exit 25 to Route 9A closed.

Bronx River Parkway – Southbound lanes blocked at Oak Street in Yonkers/ Mt. Vernon due to tree down. Traffic light out at Virginia Rd., North and South Traffic only no crossing traffic.

Hutchinson River Parkway – Exit 17 North northbound North Ave, N.R.

I684 – Exit 2 Southbound (Westchester County Airport) closed.

Route 118 – In Yorktown both directions closed at Hanover Street in Yorktown. In Somers, closed Southbound at Granite Springs Road.

The rash of downed trees and power disruptions began to roll across the city between 8:30 A.M. and 9 this morning.

A resident of Midchester Avenue in the Highlands reported at 8:45 A.M. electrical wires were downed along their  street by this morning’s 30 knots and higher winds. They reported that wires were on  the road shooting off electrical sparks and their power is out “all over the area.” The resident reported the White Plains Fire Department was on the scene. The resident observed there were “wires down, and sparking all over the place.”  According to that resident, the wire is still sparking, and a tree is smouldering.

Meanwhile, in Battle Hill, a resident  notified WPCNR at 8:40 A.M., “There’s a HUGE tree down on Battle Ave just up the hill from 119….. took out the power lines…. emergency crews decending on area now… just walked down from there before it fell and was getting pelted with debris from the wind.. hope nobody is hurt.”

Westchester County Airport at the time of these incidents, reported sustained winds from the south at 26 miles per hour at the time of these incidents, with gusts to 57 miles per hour. As of 10 A.M, winds have subsided.