Town Of Ramapo And Village Of Airmont Meet To Discuss Cragmere Road Concerns

By Idy Perl

This morning, the Town of Ramapo and Village of Airmont met to discuss Cragmere Road in Airmont, where a car overturned last week in what is the latest in a chain of incidents that have occured on the road. 

Cragmere Road, which is already narrow, has a retaining wall on one side that starts and ends suddenly, and drivers often don't have enough time to notice and avoid it. The wall has caused several serious accidents, including a fatal accident several years ago. 

Since the street is on the border between the Town of Ramapo and Village of Airmont, representatives from both areas, including Town of Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht, his chief of staff Mona Montel, and ---- from Airmont, as well as local residents, met to discuss the safety concerns and how they can be solved. 

"I met today with Airmont Mayor Nathan Bubel and resident Mechal Lieber to follow up on previous meetings addressing  safety concerns on Cragmere Road," Michael Specht tells Rockland Daily. "Cragmere goes through the jurisdiction of Airmont, Suffern and the Town of Ramapo, requiring inter municipal cooperation to make improvements. The Town is about to start installing a sidewalk for pedestrian safety on the parts that are under its control and is working with the villages for the rest.... Mayor Bubel indicated that the Village will look into the feasibility of  moving the retaining wall further back from the roadway. In addition, the Village will soon put in a crosswalk and other safety markings and signs in coordination with the Town Highway Department. I'd like to thank Mayor Bubel for the productive meeting and  Mr. Lieber for his advocacy in making this neighborhood safer." 

"We’re asking the town of Ramapo, Village of Airmont, and Village of Suffern to work together to improve safety on this road, by installing sidewalks and moving up the retaining wall further into the property," Michael Lieber, a local resident, tells Rockland Daily. "I'm hopeful that after today's meeting we'll be able to solve this once and for all."