NARROWSBURG, NY — At the recent Tusten Town Board meeting on October 7, the board discussed the updated plan for the repair of the Narrowsburg Bridge. Originally, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) reported that the bridge would be single-lane until 2015. Now it says the bridge will be single-lane until 2018, when permanent repairs will begin. During the repair time, there is a possibility that the bridge will be closed on nights, weekends and times of low traffic. Supervisor Carol Wingert asked PennDOT why that would happen; they replied that it is because there is a section underneath the bridge that crosses the entire bridge that needs to be repaired. To do this, there can be no traffic on the bridge. All other work can be done in a single lane.

The board talked about the issues this would cause. One is health and safety, because the Tusten Volunteer Ambulance Corps is a first responder to Beach Lake, and many people in Narrowsburg go to Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale. If the bridge were closed, getting to the Pennsylvania side would be difficult and would take about an extra 40 minutes, which in the case of emergency could be a matter of life and death. Wingert said, “I have a big problem with that.”

Councilmember Jane Luchsinger commented that the one-lane closure is already hurting Main Street business. “Main Street is saying it is hindering their business, I’ve heard that from several people on Main Street,” she said.

An inspection of the bridge was done in November 2012, when it was determined that the bridge would need repairs. A weight limit was placed at 15 tons for single vehicles and 27 tons for combination vehicles like tractor trailers. However, currently there is no weight limit.

The bridge was constructed in 1954. It is maintained by the New York-Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission, along with nine other bridges along the Delaware River. Because the bridges connect New York and Pennsylvania, ownership is split between the states, with the Department of Transportation from either New York or Pennsylvania owning alternate bridges. The oldest bridges are Pond Eddy Bridge (1904) and the Skinners Falls Bridge (1901). Of all nine bridges Narrowsburg lies somewhere in the middle in terms of age.

No plastic bags in Narrowsburg?

In other news, during the meeting, Luchsinger brought up the proposition of placing a plastic-bag ban in the Town of Tusten. “I think that our energy committee has started us on a sustainability [path],” Luchsinger said. “We’ve made the commitment to the [Climate Smart Pledge]. I think this might be an additional step toward reducing our carbon footprint.” She said there is one store on Main Street that uses plastic, but she spoke to him and he said they would switch. Councilman Ned Lang brought up Peck’s Market. “They are one of our biggest employers, and I know their business is not real healthy here,” Lang said. “You need to have a conversation with them. If they say it will not hurt their business and they wouldn’t have a problem with it, then we would be OK with it.” Luchsinger did not speak to Peck’s yet, but said she will. The board talked about other options if plastic bags were banned, which would be paper or reusable bags.

All over the world governments have instituted plastic-bag bans, or placed a tax or fee on plastic bags. For example, in Ireland there is a .22 tax (in Euros), and in Wales there is a minimum charge of five pence for each plastic bag. In the United States only cities or counties have outlawed their use. In New York, this includes East Hampton Village (2011), Village of Mamaroneck (2012), City of Rye (2011) and Town of Southampton (2011). Recently California became the first state to pass a law imposing the ban. It is estimated that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year, and 380 billion of those are in the U.S.