Jan. 25, 2023

Dear Friends & Neighbors,

The construction of a crosswalk on Route 22 and Elm Rock Road has created a fracture in our otherwise pleasant and respectful community. Recently, it’s become clear that families who both support and oppose this initiative are equally frustrated. The good news is, we all agree that promoting walking and improving safe walkability within Bronxville is an important issue. However, conflicting sets of information, and in some cases misinformation, is creating unnecessary discord and even hostility.

We believe that if we start from a common objective – making Bronxville a safe walking village – and agree to a consistent set of facts, we will be able to find a solution that works for everyone.  We are committed to working in good faith with all concerned neighbors to achieve that goal.

As a first step, and in partial response to the letter that appeared here on January 18th, we would like to share what we know to be true about the Elm Rock crosswalk initiative.

Complete Streets are important to Bronxville families.

In a survey conducted in the Fall of 2021, Route 22 (a.k.a. White Plains Road) was cited as the street or area that, after Pondfield Road, caused the most concern.  In the past 18 months, a 72 year old woman was struck and killed in front of the library, a child was struck in front of Christ Church, a parking enforcement officer was struck in front of the Taco Project, and a woman was struck at the corner of Locust Lane and Pondfield. These incidents are in addition to countless close calls and unreported accidents and amplify our community’s acute concern.

The Elm Rock crosswalk initiative has been transparent from the beginning.

The process for approving and implementing the Elm Rock crosswalk was not withheld from residents. The crosswalk has been discussed at more than a 10 public trustee meetings and the Mayor has shared public updates in at least two of her regular columns:

• December 2021: Initial suggestion to reach out to NYS DOT to pursue the crosswalk
• January 2022: Alignment on the crosswalk location and resolution to solicit design plans
• March 2022: Village confirms the crosswalk is separate to the Safe Routes to School effort
• April 2022: Village 2022-23 budget discussion, including the crosswalk
• June 2022: Village 2022-23 budget discussion, including the crosswalk
• June 2022: Mayor update on the crosswalk to the community
• July 2022: Discussed meeting with a county planner on the crosswalk
• September 2022: Village awarded the crosswalk bid to a contractor
• September 2022: Village accepted the System for Award Management (SAM) Grant expedited by NYS Senator Shelley Mayer
• September 2022: Mayor update on the crosswalk to the community
• October 2022: Update about maintenance responsibilities for the flashing beacons
• November 2022: Summary of November Board meeting on Elm Rock crosswalk construction
• January 2023: Summary of Elm Rock crosswalk discussion at January Board meeting

The “Safe Routes to School Concept Plan” is NOT part of the crosswalk initiative.

The Village commissioned a concept plan from Toole Consulting to give our most vulnerable pedestrians, children, safe passage to school through designated corridors. This plan spanned Woodland Avenue to Beechwood Avenue to Hemlock Road to Studio Lane, and while it included Elm Rock Road, the focus was not solely Elm Rock. The plan was not approved by the Village and is not connected to the crosswalk on Route 22.  No pedestrian lanes, parking restrictions, signage or anything associated with that plan is moving forward.

The planned Elm Rock crosswalk will increase safety for all walkers.

There are many crosswalks on Route 22 which protect residents in our neighboring communities. The presence of a marked crosswalk at an uncontrolled location on two-lane roads doesn’t alone change the pedestrian incident rate, but the proposed, actuated flashing beacons, increases efficacy by 63%. Additionally, the Elm Rock crosswalk meets all the state and federal criteria for a marked crosswalk in an uncontrolled location. Multiple planners, the NYSDOT, and State Senate together with our Village leadership unanimously approved this initiative.

A large number of Bronxville residents support and will benefit from the Elm Rock crosswalk.

More than 186 Bronxville families have asked the Mayor and Trustees to immediately resume construction specifically of the Elm Rock crosswalk. Additionally, there are people who live in 150+ homes East of Route 22 who deserve safe access to the rest of the Village. Finally, the many Village residents who regularly cross Route 22 from West to East to access the Dog Park, the Nature Preserve, Siwanoy and other residential locations will benefit at least as much as the residents who live East of Route 22.

Crosswalks at Pondfield and Tanglewylde were part of the initial 2020 proposal to the Village and are not mutually exclusive of a crosswalk at Elm Rock

The initial crosswalk proposal in 2020 requested three crosswalks at Pondfield, Tanglewylde, and Elm Rock. The Pondfield crosswalk was approved by the state in 2017 and is currently in the queue. The Tanglewylde intersection is scheduled for installation in 2023 after a dangerous accident prompted a resident to petition NYSDOT directly in May 2022.

The crosswalk initiative and its ultimate construction has been funded with NYS grants and funds, not local tax dollars.

Our Village leadership, former County Legislator and State Senator collaborated to channel highly sought after Complete Street funds to Bronxville for the creation of a needed crosswalk on Elm Rock and Route 22.  Working with elected officials at the state and county level, Village officials sought and won State-funded grants (not local Village funds) for a planning consultant and a crosswalk. Without this effort, these funds would have gone to other municipalities.

Our Village is too small to remain divided on the importance of walkability. We’re stronger when we work together. The next trustee meeting is February 13th. Let’s unite to advance our common goals:   

• Request a Village-wide walkability study be conducted in a timely manner
• Reconfirm that “Safe Routes To School” plans are officially tabled and will not be considered in relation to the crosswalk
• Quickly schedule the separate, open-door workshop to focus specifically on the Route 22 / Elm Rock crosswalk, so the Village can address specific points of concern with residents, including actuated flashing beacons, crosswalk location, and beautification consideration

We welcome a collaboration with the signatories of the January 18th letter before the February meeting to see if we can come to that meeting presenting a united front. And even if we cannot agree beforehand, at a minimum, we should be able to come to the meeting with a better understanding of the issues that separate us.

We encourage and seek a civil and respectful dialogue, ahead of and at the February meeting.

Your neighbors, 

Kerry Acocella

Huma Agboatwalla

Ali Agboatwalla

Sara Axelbaum

Michael Axelbaum

Jill Babic

Nikola Babic

Katy Barrett

Jack Bierwirth

Stéphanie Bodart

Timothy Bodart

Sandra Borducci

Peter Borducci

William Caleo

Megan LeFauve Caleo

Carmela Callahan

Mark Callahan

John Campbell

Steffany Carey

Meghan Carson

Charles Carson

Ashley Ching

Mike Ching

Lindsey Christ

Matthew Christ

Amy Civale

Peter Clifford

Susan Cody

Elizabeth Cunnane

Erica Davis

Aaron Davis

Diana Deichert

Rob Deichert

Susannah Dicker

Bryan Dicker

Corey Dong

Carolyn Duncan

Richard Fraser

Elizabeth Fino

Paul Fino

Elissa Fory

Susan Frehse

Woody Frehse

Dale M. Frehse

Beth Fulton

Will Fulton

JP Gallipoli

Vasiliki Giannopoulos

Stelios Giannopoulos

Alicia Glavin

Katie Gohman

Joan Marlow Golan

Alexis Gold

Aaron Gold

Katherine Grant

Chelsea Hackett

Connor Hackett

Tara Hansen

Carla Hodulik

Jack Howard

Amy Howard

Julia Hull

James Hull

Ruby Hwang

Harris Hwang

Lindsay Hyde

Arthur Hyde

Anne Jenks

Elliot Jenks

Emily Johnston

Nik Johnston

Rachael Jones

David Jones

Simone Kane

Heidi Kapoor

John Kennedy

Holly Kennedy

Robert Kiernan

Mary Louise Kiernan

Erin M. Kiernan

Sarah Kohtio

Andrew Langhoff

Alanna Leavell

Byrd Leavell

Edward Lovett

Sarah Maclean

Nicholas Marino

Jessica Marino

Ed Martin

Ginny Martin

Neala Martin

Lillian McCaw

William McCaw

Kevin McNeill

Teresa Mello

Niamh Hartnett Merluccio

Angelo Merluccio

Mariana Mingo

Dennise Mulvihill

Megan O’Grady

Maren Page

Jimmy Page

Jennifer Pelzer

Andrew Pelzer

Richard Pero

Bradley Petersen

Sara Petersen

Cara Peyronel

Mario Peyronel

Gretchen Pingel

Emily Pollakowski

John Pollakowski

Emelie Preis

Susan Raju

Quita Ramirez

Alvaro Ramirez

Dani Rasamny

Rob Rasamny

Jennifer Redman

Towson Remmel

Alexandra Remmel

James Ruddy

Teresa Ruddy

Jane Saad

Joseph Saad

Jamie Schwartz

David Schwartz

Julian Schwartz (Age 11, I cross 22 everyday)

Morgan Seamark

Emma Seamark

Zara Seamark

Eve Seamark

Christina Sequeira

Ajit Sequeira

Moira Skeados

Catherine Smith

Toby Smith

Emily Smith

Angus Smith

Andrew Souza

Kelly Souza

Chip Spear

Michelle Spillane

Ben Stapleton

Kate Steele

Colin Steele

Michael Stiller

Thea Stokes

Patrick Stokes

Kalen Strickland

Chris Strickland

Peter Thorpe

Kim Tobin

Greg Tobin

Christina Tse

Lee Tse

Emily Tyree

Dean Vanderwarker

Lynette Vanderwarker

Lyndal Vermette

Alexa Vignone

Prosper Vignone

Philip von Mehren

Jack M. Walsh

Ruth Walter

Patricia Warble

Margaret Weismiller

Jill Whipple

Timothy Whipple

Veronica Witty

Miwako Willoughby

Scott Willoughby

Kimberly Witzke

Christian Witzke

Kiri Wolfe

Deron Wolfe

Robyn Zivic

 

Editor's note:  MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements in letters to the editor, and the opinions do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff. Its objective in publishing letters to the editor is to give air to diverse thoughts and opinions of residents in the community.