To the Editor:

We have two bridges here in Voorheesville: The first crosses Route 155, the entrance to the village;  the second, the CSX bridge, crosses Maple Avenue.

The first bridge is part of our lovely rail trail. It is very functional, and when perched on the bridge, you get a lovely view of the creek and surrounding area.

Most people consider this bridge crossing Route 155 to be the main entrance to the village. But unfortunately, while driving down the road upon entering the village, the sight of tangled weeds spilling over the bridge, rusted steel supports, and the ungainly appearance of this structure sends the wrong message about our little corner of the world.

This bridge can and should be a magnificent entrance to the village. It could say “Welcome to Voorheesville” in purple and gold lettering, or be painted to be bright and shiny steel, or be artistically brought to life. (Note the rail-trail bridge in Slingerlands with a lovely mural of the Heldebergs painted on it).

But instead, our bridge looks like the driver is entering some impoverished village in some backwater county. We can do better. We are better. Let’s get the entrance to Voorheesville cleaned up so it properly exhibits the pride we have in our village.

The second bridge in our Village is the CSX bridge. My neighbors here in the Scotchpine area aptly call it “the bridge of death,” in reference to the barely walkable pedestrian area under the structure. Unsightly, crumbling, always wet, and very dangerous, there are not enough adjectives to describe this monstrosity that literally divides the village into two halves.

When our kids were younger, there was a path that went over the train tracks to the elementary school. We, as well as most parents in the area, would advise our children to take this route, rather than risk walking under the bridge.

Given the good line of sight at the over-the-tracks crossing point, it was the better of the two not-so-great choices if our kids wanted to walk to school. And now, with the hundreds of new homes being built on the west  side of the village and town, this safety issue is further compounded.

We need a better, protected sidewalk under the bridge, with railings, which there is obviously not room for now. We need this to encourage our kids to walk or bike to school. And we need it soon, before there is an accident, which is extremely preventable if we do our jobs as responsible adults.

Steve Greenberg

Voorheesville