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I began running in the Rivertowns nearly four years ago when my family moved to a house located in Irvington on Main St right next to the entrance of the Old Croton Aqueduct. When we purchased a home in Dobbs Ferry, the diversity of my runs expanded as did my frustration with the local infrastructure.Â
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If you haven't heard by now, a middle school child was hit earlier this week on Route 9 in Dobbs Ferry. Minor injuries, but this is the second pedestrian accident this year.Â
Route 9 in Dobbs Ferry at the McLelland Avenue near Alcott Montessori School
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What about that Route 9 survey? Did you take it? Did you like what you saw? I heard mixed feelings - understandably so, but what we need to keep in mind is that our roads were built a long time ago. Our vehicles are now larger, faster, and most families have more than one.Â
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This final survey will provide the Route 9 Active Transportation Corridor planning team vital input regarding your thoughts and opinions about design features considered at specific locations.
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This past summer my daughter attended the Little Leaf camp on the Andrus on Hudson property located on the southern border of Hastings between the north and south bound lanes of Route 9. Every morning and afternoon for nearly 6 weeks straight we drove to and from camp along Route 9 from Dobbs Ferry into Hastings and onto the Andrus property. After a few drives I began to take notice of the conditions along Route 9...
Once I saw the guy in the wheel chair planning a run began - he was barely balanced on what appeared to be a sidewalk with two pedestrians trying to walk around him.Â
Olinda Avenue.... See the below image and video to understand the path a pedestrian must take when traveling south on the OCA and desires to continue south on Route 9.
This video is a snapshot of 3 of the 5 crossing a pedestrian must use to continue south on Route 9.Â
Route 9 after Olinda gets a little treacherous - there is a paved path just beyond the curb that appears to be a sidewalk, whether or not it's actually a sidewalk is unknown at this time. This faux sidewalk is uneven, broken, overgrown, and/or blocked a majority of the time. See video below.Â
Route 9 splits, the north and south bound lanes go around the Andrus on Hudson property. When the property ends the north and south bound lanes slowly come back together. See image an video below.Â
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This path when taken by a pedestrian requires crossing 4 lanes of traffic. On numerous occasions when dropping off and picking up I have seen Andrus on Hudson staff walking from near by bus stops not to mention that off to the left is church and that the Andrus campus holds a pre-school, senior center, and several summer camps. Lots of people coming and going. Watch the video below to get a better sense of what using this intersection is like.Â
Route 9 south bound lacks that faux sidewalk leaving pedestrians no choice but to walk at the roads edge or in the grass. There is only one lane of traffic, offering a car's width between pedestrians at the road's edge and moving vehicles. However, there are no crosswalks. This portion of Route 9 also has bus stops that I saw in use while driving to/from camp. See video below.Â
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The crosswalk located on Route 9 and Clinton/Oak in Dobbs Ferry is FINALLY getting its pedestrian activated crossing light. This past week they came, did some digging, and planted some new signs.Â
Pedestrians that use this crosswalk will be able to push a button that flashes yellow lights alerting oncoming drivers that they are ready to cross. By no means does pushing this button and activating the lights automatically granted you easy and immediate passage. As a pedestrian you must still STOP, LOOK, & WAVE to the driver that has stopped. If the driver(s) return the wave, then by all means proceed - with caution.Â
The activated the light does not actually mean drivers will feel an obligation to stop, allowing you to cross so expect to still have to wait. This intersection has many approaches from different directions so awareness to turning vehicles as well as further approaching vehicles is key to your safe passage.Â
Not going to lie - a lot could be done at this intersection to make it more efficient for drivers and pedestrians. Watching the construction workers was an excellent demonstration of one particular change that could dramatically increase the safety, visibility and efficiency of this intersection. Watch the below video to better understand.
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Notice when the cars were unable to turn a few things happened:
Solutions:
Below is a diagram you've likely seen before on my other blogs, but it demonstrates what this intersection could look like...
 
Two weeks ago The Jogging Jeweler graced the pages of the local Rivertowns paper - The Rivertowns Enterprise.Â
This article discussed one of the latest initiatives from the Dobbs Ferry Chamber of Commerce, a non-for-profit organization that began in August of 2015 and has grown intoa group of nearly 80 members. Becoming the President in May of 2016, I began with addressing the echoing issues from our members - parking, traffic, & safety.Â
The Fast Five are five items of low hanging fruit that the Chamber narrowed down in various meetings with members and other local community groups. Our overall goal was to pick items that were easy for the Village to target in terms of budget, time, and visibility (meaning residents and visitors alike would see the improvements.)
Overall the feedback has remained positive on the Fast Five. There have been 3-4 complaints regarding the test period for extending the meters - that is, complaints without sound reasoning as to why it is not a good idea. The test period is suggested for 6-8 months in the hopes that we can at least capture two different seasons. This test period does not have to be 7 days/week, it could just be Thurs, Fri, & Sat. It's an effort towards making the parking we have more efficient. Maybe it'll improve parking for local businesses - maybe it won't, but if we don't start trying there will be no data regarding the efficiency of our parking spaces.Â
The Chamber is currently waiting to hear back from the BOT. The BOT has asked the traffic commission to review our list of suggestions. Hopefully, a presentation from the Chamber regarding the Fast Five will be on an upcoming agenda.Â
A HUGE hug of appreciation for all those that participated in making this effort come to fruition. It took months, endless meetings, lots of editing, and ultimately led me to start this blog. Even if 3 of 5 are addressed it is a win and progress!
Look for these hashtags used in social media posts. Feel free to use #route9  on posts, pictures, or comments about Route 9. And steal #stoplookwave for posts, pictures, or comments that will help raise the awareness of sharing responsibility as pedestrians and as drivers at our crosswalks. We all need to STOP, LOOK, & WAVE before crossing, it will provide acknowledgement of being seen and show gratitude.Â
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This video is an edited video of about 30 minutes at the intersection of Route 9 and Oak/Clinton Streets in Dobbs Ferry. This video is not taken during heavy traffic, but is to demonstrate the craziness that can ensue at this particular location.Â
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A quick blog post to remind everyone that tonight in the first Route 9 Design plan meeting. Details listed below...
Sidenote: HAPPY GLOBAL RUNNING DAY! :-)
I'll be out this afternoon celebrating Running Day.
PS - I love the honks, waves, and cheers, it makes pushing my faithful sidekick (who weighs 45lbs these days) much easier! Just stay safe!!
Nelson Nygaard, transportation engineers, will attend the Route 9 meetings on June 15th & 17th. They will present a brief introduction to the project and then provide an open and informal setting for the sharing of ideas. They plan to staff four stations for attendees to provide input, ideas, comments, and suggestions. There will also be choices that people can make to articulate their preferences. These stations will have an illustration board to post notes and stickers.Â