Crosswalk to Crawford considered

Pedestrian walkway would make crossing North Ridge Street safer and slow traffic

June 20, 2024 at 12:04 a.m.

View looking across North Ridge Street toward the northern side of the Crawford Park driveway showing the stone wall that might have to be disturbed to create a pathway if a crosswalk were constructed to make for safer walking. It also shows the storm drain and wide driveway across the street from the driveway which must be avoided. (Richard Abel/Westmore News)

Joe Laronga, who lives across the street from the entrance to Crawford Park, appeared before the Rye Brook Board of Trustees a few months ago to voice his concern about the speeding motorists on North Ridge Street and the need for a crosswalk to safely traverse one of the village’s main thoroughfares to the park.

He knows the territory well because he often takes his preschool daughter to the green space governed by the Town of Rye.

It didn’t take the Village of Rye Brook long to heed Laronga’s call for action.

They commissioned Brian Dempsey of DTS Provident Design Engineering to study the issue, and he produced a traffic engineering report that concludes a crosswalk can be placed just north or immediately south of the Crawford Park entrance driveway.

There would have to be some advance signage that would be lit up.

“If the board wants to put a crosswalk here, we have already given plans to the Town of Rye,” said Village Administrator Chris Bradbury at the June 11 village board meeting. “There is a wall there. It can be done; we just have to work with the Town on which location.”

Road narrowing, different surfaces and lowering the speed limit near the park to slow traffic have been looked at and ruled out. “The lowest you could go would be to go down to 25 mph following a traffic study,” said Bradbury.

“I heard from one Town of Rye official who expressed concerns about this,” said Mayor Jason Klein.

The study showed that the sight lines were sufficient with advance signage, said Bradbury.

“I would suggest you have a meeting with the Town because they would have to do some modifications there,” said the village administrator. “We have given them a copy of everything.”

“I was trying to think of a place where the sight line would be where you wouldn’t be going fast,” Trustee Susan Epstein offered. “How about across from Ridge Boulevard?”

“Most people are going to go where the entrance to Crawford is and cross there as well,” Bradbury responded. “There is good and bad in this. There are a lot of people crossing there.”

Bradbury raised another consideration. “You are probably going to have something where you are activating flashing lights…The neighbors might see them at night if it’s activated.”

“That is a very dangerous area,” chipped in Trustee Sal Morlino. “Cars come up Ridge Street and go up real fast.” He therefore opposed putting the crosswalk south of the park driveway. “We should really talk to the Town and push it farther north where it is safer,” he added. “Maybe the Town of Rye could make a break in that wall. Maybe they could put a path through that stone wall.”

The traffic engineering report recommends locating the crosswalk just north or south of the park driveway and states it should be supplemented with Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons as well as ADA ramps with “detectable pads.”

“It would need to be determined if there is any historical significance of the stone wall at the Park,” the report concludes.

Klein said he knows the situation firsthand, having crossed the road with his children.

“People are crossing it,” Bradbury stressed. He witnessed it himself and was surprised at the number. “The thought was let’s see if we can make it safer.”

Besides his previous visit, Laronga showed up at the June 11 meeting as well.

“I live at 126 [North Ridge],” he said. “I do this every day. The other day I was leaving my driveway, and someone came down at 60 mph and honked at me.”

“People need safety crossing, but it’s also the speed issue,” he said.

“How do you feel about the flashing lights?” asked Klein.

“No big deal,” said Laronga. “Let’s make it safer for everybody. The speed is still the #1 problem there. I think the crosswalk with the signage and the flashing lights, I think that is going to make it safer.”

“Thank you for doing this and hopefully you can come to a resolution, and it works with the Town of Rye,” he added.

The mayor concluded that the village board would share the information with the Traffic Commission and start a conversation with the Town of Rye.