Officials Call for Route 52 Road Improvements in Kent

Elected officials in the region called on New York State last week to make needed road improvements on Route 52 in the Town of Kent and release an overdue report on highway pavement and bridges.

Assemblyman Kevin Byrne, Kent Supervisor Jamie McGlasson and Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater maintained Route 52 has fallen off the radar on the Department of Transportation’s priority list.

Byrne, who presently serves on the Assembly’s Transportation Committee and is running unopposed for Putnam County Executive, said Route 52 in Kent needs the same attention as has been given in Putnam to the same roadway in Carmel, Taconic State Parkway in Putnam Valley, Route 22 in Brewster and Route 6 in Carmel.

“The majority of Putnam County’s main corridors are state roads which often makes us overly reliant on state government to ensure we have a strong, resilient transportation system,” Byrne said. “The current conditions of Route 52 through Kent is completely unacceptable. Our ambulances, school busses, commuters and small businesses all depend on safe roads and sound bridges. The state needs to step up and do more to maintain its share of the transportation system in Putnam County. That includes Route 52 in the Town of Kent.”

“For years New York State has overlooked the needs of our community,” McGlasson said. “Route 52 is a state road meaning New York State must rehabilitate it. It is simply insulting that our neighbors’ needs were met but Kent was not a consideration.”

During this year’s state budget hearings in Albany, Fred Hiffa, who served as Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation, testified on behalf of the Rebuild NY Coalition regarding the state’s transportation budget that the Hudson Valley (Region 8) was among the worst conditioned roads in New York State with more than 60% of its pavements in fair or poor condition.

Slater, who is running to succeed Byrne in the 94^th Assembly District, said Shaun Boyd, a candidate for Kent Town Board, first alerted him to the conditions on Route 52.

“State Route 52 is the main artery through this community and any motorist will tell you the current condition is terrible,” Slater said. “Residents throughout the 94th Assembly District pay some of the highest property taxes in the country and having safe state roads is not an unfair expectation.”

Rick Pezzullo

Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/