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. 

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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. 

Where?

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. 

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| FINAL Rt 9 Survey |

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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The Jogging Jeweler #39

| Stop, Look, Wave - Tanks |

1. Stop - at crosswalks
2. Look - for others
3. Wave - acknowledge & thank

Why???

The Jogging Jeweler has started this apparel based campaign in an effort to raise awareness of the what sharing the road really means.

Last fall our communities speckled the roadsides with lawn signs "Slow Down Rivertowns" - basically homeowners giving a polite fist-shake and holler at speedy drivers passing their homes. However, after raking leaves, moving snow, and weekly mowing few remain, those that do are now part of our day-to-day scenery and most likely ignored.

The bright colors and simple symbols hope to pass along the idea that we are all in this together. That behind the wheel or on foot is active participation in sharing the pathways we all use to go about our daily lives. AND - that saying "thank you" is courteous and will positively reinforce stopping, looking, and waving again and again and again.

Want one?

• Easy - purchase button down below!
• Local & want to pick up? Send me an email and we can arrange a meeting.
• Out of town? Let's ship it!

Where does the money for the shirts go?

To buy more shirts....winter is coming.

For real though - The Jogging Jeweler is not a paid gig. I do it because I give a damn and believe starting conversations about the issues we face as a community leads to ideas, solutions, and a better version of ourselves.

AND REMEMBER - STOP, LOOK, WAVE

 

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The Jogging Jeweler #38

| A Deer Dilemma |

The Jogging Jeweler typically writes about pedestrian and traffic safety, however on my most recent run was one of the most natural of surprises - a mother deer with her young....Not 1! Not 2! BUT 3 baby fawns accompanied this mother. 

What does this mean?

This means their natural habit - our backyards, gardens, schools, and parks is an AMAZING & thriving environment for them. So much so that they are able to feed and provide safety for multiple offspring with each birthing season. 

What is the Dilemma?

Well - much like here in the Rivertowns, back in the Midwest where I grew up deer populations, when out of control are incredibly destructive to vegetation. Farmers knowingly deduct the first 2-10 rows of any field from their harvest yields as that's how much the deer can eat. 

BUT....

For us sub-urban dwellers these deer pose a much bigger threat, one that was recently demonstrate when I picked up my daughter from the sitter this past summer. An 18-month old at the sitter's was covered in marks. Had one of the kids bitten him? No. Did he have ringworm? No...He had Lymes Disease. 

Deer carry ticks. They come into our gardens, yards, parks, playgrounds and the ticks fall off - bringing diseases such a Lyme, literally, to our door. 

What can we do?

Four Posters - Fire Island is well-known for their approach to limiting the deer population, vegetation, and ticks carried by the deer. Fire Island has created a feeding system for the deer that is surrounded by large rollers treated with a pesticide.(Read more) When the deer insert their hungry little heads between the rollers to eat, the rollers apply a pesticide similar to Frontline for our dogs and cats to the deer, killing their existing ticks and preventing new ones from getting a free ride. 

Tick Tubes -  Cardboard, bio-degradable tubes, filled with cotton balls that are soaked in a synethic version of a naturally occurring tick repellent that is toxic to ticks but not mammals. Tubes are placed at homes throughout neighborhoods for mice, whom the ticks contract Lyme's from, to collect the cotton balls for nest building. Ticks then feed on the mice, ingesting the toxin and dying. Never getting the chance to free-ride on a deer and enter areas that we frequent.(Read more)

Deer birth control - They capture the deer, shoot them with birth control, release them and then dart them again in two years time to re-up the dosage. Locals can help track the immunized does via the link provided. (Read more)

Culling - They target a certain location and position a bow hunter to strike the deer dead (with hopefully one shot). Not a fan of this idea in our immediate local areas - high density population with high traffic of people, kids, vehicles, etc. (Read more)

Moving to the suburbs and dealing with nature is part of the package. Whether they are deer, skunks, coons, possums, squirrels, turkey, coyotes, woodchucks, etc. We're the smarter species, we can most certainly figure out a way to live together without killing one another ;-)

Did you know?

• Deer mate Sept-Nov, gestation lasts 7.5 months through the winter. Fawns are born May-June, hence why we are are seeing them out and about now. 
• Female deer with multiples may carry off-spring from different males. 
• Ticks contract Lyme's from mice, deer are the public transit for ticks.

The following is a list provided by the CDC of diseases carried by ticks:

• Anaplasmosis is transmitted to humans by tick bites primarily from the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern and upper midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast.
• Babesiosis is caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells. Most human cases of babesiosis in the U.S. are caused by Babesia microti. Babesia microti is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and is found primarily in the northeast and upper midwest.
• Borrelia mayonii infection has recently been described as a cause of illness in the upper midwestern United States. It has been found in blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Borrelia mayonii is a new species and is the only species besides B. burgdorferi known to cause Lyme disease in North America.
• Borrelia miyamotoi infection has recently been described as a cause of illness in the U.S. It is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and has a range similar to that of Lyme disease.
• Bourbon virus infection has been identified in a limited number patients in the Midwest and southern United States. At this time, we do not know if the virus might be found in other areas of the United States.
• Colorado tick fever is caused by a virus transmitted by the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni). It occurs in the the Rocky Mountain states at elevations of 4,000 to 10,500 feet.
• Ehrlichiosis is transmitted to humans by the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum), found primarily in the southcentral and eastern U.S.
• Heartland virus cases have been identified in the Midwestern and southern United States. Studies suggest that Lone Star ticks can transmit the virus. It is unknown if the virus may be found in other areas of the U.S.
• Lyme disease is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern U.S. and upper midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast.
• Powassan disease is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the groundhog tick (Ixodes cookei). Cases have been reported primarily from northeastern states and the Great Lakes region.
• Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis is transmitted to humans by the Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum).
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is transmitted by the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sangunineus) in the U.S. The brown dog tick and other tick species are associated with RMSF in Central and South America.
• STARI (Southern tick-associated rash illness) is transmitted via bites from the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum), found in the southeastern and eastern U.S.
• Tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected soft ticks. TBRF has been reported in 15 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming and is associated with sleeping in rustic cabins and vacation homes.
• Tularemia is transmitted to humans by the dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Tularemia occurs throughout the U.S.
• 364D rickettsiosis (Rickettsia phillipi, proposed) is transmitted to humans by the Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis ticks). This is a new disease that has been found in California.

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The Jogging Jeweler

| JJ Surprise!! |

If you haven't noticed, The Jogging Jeweler logo received a slight makeover/enhancement. This new logo is in an effort to raise more awareness locally about pedestrian safety because with this new logo comes a surprise!!

How THIS Came to be

Recently in Irvington new lawn signs and posters appeared to promote an idea that I have also been sharing - STOP-LOOK-WAVE

• STOP - Drivers & pedestrians NEED to stop at crosswalks.
• LOOK - Drivers & Pedestrians NEED to be aware when entering the area near a crosswalk.
• WAVE - Drivers & Pedestrians NEED to wave, acknowledging they see each other.

I spoke with the person in charge of those signs and the idea of yet another yard sign bothered me. Their cost and stability in weathering the summer & moving them with each weekly yard mowing seemed like a wasteful hassle. Especially knowing that their placement won't be ideal and would over time become part of our day-to-day scenery, being ignored by drivers and pedestrians.

So how do we take this concept visual, making it seen publicly, but not ignored with routine. Something causing other pedestrians and drivers to pay more attention throughout our community. Then one day while running and receiving the usual awkward double glances and/or honks and shouts of enthusiasm to my Go Pro hat - it hit me! This crazy hat on my head throughout our villages... 

THE Surprise

HATS!!!!

However, the idea didn't just stop there...

In an effort to further awareness The Jogging Jeweler has created apparel to support the idea that we, as drivers and pedestrians, need to be more aware and active in our usage of crosswalks. 

Sometimes being creative can be tough, you like everything - so in an effort to make something the larger population would wear here's your opportunity to help!

Help The Jogging Jeweler narrow down the looks, styles, and colors of STOP-LOOK-WAVE apparel!

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