By Mary Marvin, Mayor, Village of Bronxville

Sept. 15, 2021: So many Village residents are suffering from the after effects of Hurricane Ida, both financially and emotionally, and those of us at Village Hall who work for you are here to help. Please call on us anytime. We will also issue E-Alerts of any news on the subject, especially as it relates to recovery of property losses.

We continue to pick up debris and we will continue to do so until it is all clear. We have now learned that the event was not a 100-year event based on the rainfall amount to timeframe but rather an unprecedented 200-year event. We are actively working with the county, the state and federal governments to see it there’s anything they can assist with especially as it relates to the Bronx River.  We already allocated funds for the cleaning and televising of the sanitary sewer lines on the Village’s West Side with bids to be opened later this week. I want to thank the Village staff who came in on weekends and stayed late and a heartfelt thank you to all the Village residents who handled everything with such grace and kindness in spite of some really heartbreaking damage.  Our pumps clearly worked.  Now we have to figure out some assistance for other neighborhoods so badly hit.

In other news, in what has turned out to be a very busy fall, on Monday night at the September Board of Trustees’ meeting, the Trustee’s unanimously extended our leaf blower ban. Prior to Monday night’s action, gas powered leaf blowers were banned from use in the Village from June 1 to September 30. The new law extends the time frame from December 15 to March 15 and then again from May 15 to October 15.

During the permitted months, the blowers may be used from 8 AM to 6PM Monday through Saturdays with no use on Sundays and holidays. Should there be any kind of storms or weather conditions, the Village can suspend the restriction for debris cleanup. Use of gas blowers during the prohibited period constitutes a Village violation with fines attached but taking a new enforcement route, violation of the ban can also result in a gardener having his license suspended from working in the Village. We believe this penalty will have more teeth than a monetary fine as has been applied in the past and frankly became simply a cost of doing business for some large gardening enterprises. The Village’s very active Green Committee did extensive research reviewing the codes of dozens of Westchester communities and our new schedule frankly puts us perhaps in the middle of the gradient from no bans such as in Eastchester to a complete ban to take place next year in Larchmont. The Green Committee’s research and findings are located on the Village’s website and are an excellent read on the subject. So many of you reached out to us while working from home to highlight the problem and galvanized us to act.

Many of you are frustrated with some of the driving around the Village and have reached out to us asking for speed bumps or humps.

I will write at length devoting more explanation to the topic going forward but I did want to share some facts about what constitutes a speed bump that passes legal muster by conforming to the New York State Vehicle and Traffic law under the heading Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

As background, speed bumps must be 12 to 14 feet in length and 3 to 4 inches high containing asphalt or rubber. Warning signs saying “speed bump ahead” must be posted a certain number of feet on approach in both directions as well as adjacent to the bump itself, most likely positioned on lawns and private property. The pavement must also be crosshatched to enhance visibility and the bump itself must be noticeably painted.

Many people like the concept but living adjacent to the bump also creates 24/7 noise in some cases. Bumps are never to be used on bus or truck routes or major roads. In Bronxville‘s case,  that would eliminate bumps on streets such as Sagamore Road and Midland Avenue.

In light of resident interest, the Board of Trustees is reviewing the enactment of a speed bump policy so neighborhoods can work with us on making traffic calming decisions.

In anticipation of school reopenings and the importance of pedestrian safety as we encourage our young people to walk to school, the Trustees approved two important projects for submittal under the federal government’s Community Development Block Grant Program at the July Board of Trustees’ meeting:

An upgrade to the Midland Avenue and Pondfield Road intersection with state of the art traffic signals, pedestrian crosswalk signals with push buttons designed for the hearing and visually impaired and other ADA compliant improvements including curbing and handicap ramps.

We also submitted a project focusing on the Westside circle for the design and construction of crosswalk improvements to enhance pedestrian safety.

Other pedestrian traffic safety measures already implemented or under review at the Village level include installing two additional digital speed radar devices this summer, one in front of Christ Church as motorists descend the Sagamore Road hill and approach the crosswalk from Merestone Terrace to the Church and one along Route 22 near Elm Rock Road for traffic southbound. These two locations were added following resident requests.

A majority of crosswalks have been restriped this summer and new crosswalks were added at the Midland-Tanglewylde intersection. New LED traffic light signals were also installed at this intersection. A new bike rack has been ordered for the Parkway Road parking lot for bikers traveling to the west side and train station area.

On the subject of bikes, we have noticed a dangerous increase in bike and scooter riding, most notably on the business district sidewalks.  This is prohibited by Village code so we ask that you share this information with family members as schools have reopened and our youngsters as well as our seniors on the sidewalk need safe passage. We will put up signs if necessary but prefer not to crowd the business district with more signage.

In effort to enhance the pedestrian access in all areas of the Village, we are actively working with the Westchester County Director of Transportation to help us plan and evaluate ideas for improvement.

So much can be done, large and small, to enhance the Village’s livability and we count on you to bring your suggestions forward to enhance Village life.