Calls grow for more lights near Bx39 Bus shelter on Pelham Parkway
Roxanne Delgado runs the nonprofit organization Friends of Pelham Parkway, dedicated to improving and supporting the neighborhood. She says residents who ride the Bx39 bus have reached out about waiting in the pitch black due to a lack of lights near the bus shelter.
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On a weekday afternoon, Pelham Parkway near White Plains Road is jam-packed with traffic and people. Once the sun goes down, headlights and traffic signals are the only source of light in the area.
"If there's no approaching traffic it's completely dark the bus shelter," said Roxanne Delgado, the founder of Friends of Pelham Parkway.
Roxanne Delgado runs the nonprofit organization Friends of Pelham Parkway, dedicated to improving and supporting the neighborhood. She says residents who ride the Bx39 bus have reached out about waiting in the pitch black due to a lack of lights near the bus shelter.
"People don't feel safe waiting for the bus at night, we've had vandalism here at night, and no one can identify who did it because it's too dark," said Delgado.
The area has been a hotspot for robberies and other crimes. According to NYPD data there have been 49 reported robberies between Pelham Parkway north and south on White Plains Road since the start of this year.
Delgado took matters into her own hands and requested more lighting to be installed in the area through the Department of Transportation in May.
"They told me they would do a feasibility study but even if they could it may take a lifetime for the contract to be done," said Delgado.
News 12 reached out to the Department of Transporation who said a contractor made repairs to lights in the area, and there are plans to upgrade lighting at the bus shelter.
"That helps but it's still not sufficient lighting, lighting does prevent crime sometimes just like cameras, lighting does help it makes people feel safer and deters people from doing wrong here," said Delgado.
The DOT is conducting a feasibility study to determine if additional lighting is necessary.
