The Jogging Jeweler #36

| Where the sidewalks end... Route 9/Hastings Edition |

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...

What did I see?

1. The roadside vegetation on the northbound lanes of Route 9 leans in so far most drivers use a portion of the right hand lane to avoid the plants.  
2. People in business attire running, biking, and on scooters - assuming to the train. 
3. Joggers
4. A person in a wheel chair
5. People walking from town with groceries
6. People in medical attire walking to/from Andrus
7. Bus Stops and riders waiting or walking to/from

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. 

Exactly where the sidewalks ends..

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. 

 What happens after Olinda?

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. 

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. 

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. 

The road back...

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. 

What can we do???

• Put these locations on the wiki map that the Route 9 active transportation group is developing. 
• Ask that state legislature to require crosswalks near senior and children facilities as well as bus stops. 
• Note local development projects - ask that those near bus stops, schools, hospitals, libraries, or other public highly frequented destinations by children or elderly adopt a crosswalk - especially in a location where one does not exist or needs updating. 
• Slow down when entering this location