Leucadia Under- Crossing Opening Article
I had the pleasure of talking to Kevin Doyle, the President of Leucadia 101 Mainstreet, about the Leucadia Undercrossing. You might know him from the Leucadia 101 Farmer's market every Sunday, or maybe you know him from the board, apparently he has been on the board for “forever minus a day.” He explained in detail the history behind this project. The original push for the building of the undercross dates all the way back to 2002, but then in 2007 when the housing crisis hit, funding got put on hold. The main reason why many locals and board members wanted this undercross to be built was because of the dangers crossing the tracks entailed. Crossing the tracks illegally had a fine of $1,000 at one point because of the threatening outcomes this action caused. Luckily this project broke ground three years ago, right at the start of COVID. They began this project when the city loans were put on hold, by the end of the project it had a price tag of $13.4 million.
Kevin explained that one of the biggest benefits for both sides was the difference in clientele on both sides. Kevin works at the Leucadia Farmer's Market every Sunday, and he explained to me the diversity of clients he’s been noticing on the other side of the tracks most mornings.
With this knowledge, I continued my own research and went to the Farmers Market to interview venders about their thoughts on the undercrossing. I spoke to Luke at Cyclops Farms, he explained to me that many of his clients had a lot to say about it. He explained that many of his clientele were very upset with the parking situation before the undercrossing was built, he’s now noticed many more people saying they just parked on the other side of the tracks and walked! Parking on the 101 and crossing is now extremely safe to do.
After talking to Luke, I headed over to the Sage Ranch Hill tent and spoke to Spencer. Spencer is like Luke in the way he is not a local, but he told that he had witnessed many of his clients overjoyed with the new found availability in parking the undercrossing gave many citizens and Farmer's Market visitors. As I continued to speak to Kevin, I asked him if he believed that the shops on the other side of the tracks feel the same, and he told me “Yes, the opening of the underpass opened the door for many locals that have been residing in the same town but never really connecting with each other to finally interact with each other on the daily…it provides community connection.”
Not only is the safe crossing used by Farmer's Market attendees, parents at Paul Ecke Central School are now able to safely park and walk to school from the west side of the railroad tracks. The start of the school year traffic has been reduced because of the option to park across the tracks and use the El Portal crossing. Leucadia 101 Mainstreet Association hopes that residents and visitors alike will continue to use the beautiful and safe crossing as a means to connect with each side of Leucadia.
