On October 4th of this year, the Edgemont Community Council and its Traffic, Sidewalk, and Safety Committee submitted a Traffic and Safety Report to the Greenburgh Town Board. This was the culmination of a comprehensive traffic and pedestrian safety initiative that lasted eleven months and involved 12 interactive, neighborhood-specific online workshops and 5 surveys with 632 total responses from residents.
In response to this advocacy of the Edgemont Community Council, the Greenburgh Town Board, at its November 21st Work Session, committed to taking steps on a number of the traffic and safety priorities that were identified in the Report. The recording of the work session can be found here – https://youtu.be/_ETZaf-_HK8?si=WGcN-zQuCnZ0fc_j.
At the Work Session, the Town committed to allocating funds to complete the necessary topographic and boundary surveys as a next step to ultimately build a sidewalk on Fort Hill Road and also committed to identifying grant and other funding opportunities for a “smart” traffic light at the intersection of Ardsley Road and Fort Hill Road. Most significantly, the Town Board gave Planning Commissioner Garrett Duquesne, AICP the go-ahead to apply for a TAP (Transportation Alternative Program) grant for Old Army Road.
While the ECC’s Traffic and Safety Report identified Fort Hill Road as the top sidewalk priority in Edgemont, at the Work Session, Commissioner Duquesne shared his professional opinion that Old Army Road is a stronger candidate for the TAP Grant program due to its proximity to two schools and due to the project having less engineering complexities. The Town, through Commissioner Duquesne’s efforts, has been successful in having its TAP Grant applications approved in the past three consecutive TAP Grant submission cycles. The Edgemont Community Council will continue to advocate for the funding of a sidewalk on Fort Hill Road through the Capital Budget and other future grant opportunities.
The Old Army Road TAP Grant application would be for the design and construction of a series of pedestrian improvements, including approximately 4,200 linear feet of sidewalk, crosswalks, ADA curb ramps, and pavement markings, which would be constructed along Old Army Road. The project would provide and significantly enhance pedestrian safety for residents seeking to walk to local schools, parks, mass transit options, and places of business. The sidewalk would begin on the south side of Old Army Road in front of #387 and extend to White Oak Lane (900 ft.) at which point a crosswalk will lead to sidewalk construction on the north and east side of Old Army from White Oak to Ardsley Road (3,300 ft.). Additional project elements would include drainage, updated crosswalks at intersections, and a redesigned Glenwood Road/Old Army Road intersection.
If the Old Army Road TAP Grant application is approved, the Town of Greenburgh will be required to cover 20% of the project costs. The application is due next month, January 2024, and if approved, would begin a multi-year process with work possible to start in 2025.
As a sign of commitment to the application, the Town Board, at its Wednesday, December 13th Town Board Meeting, approved $5,000 to hire a consultant to prepare a budget and concept drawings to be included in the Old Army Road TAP Grant application.
The Edgemont Community Council is encouraging community letters of support for the Old Army Road TAP Grant application to be sent by Thursday, January 4th. To express your support of the Old Army Road TAP Grant, please click this link, which will direct you to an email template you can customize with your name and why you think improvements to Old Army Road will benefit the community.
The Edgemont Community Council thanks the Town Board for their partnership in making Edgemont safer for all residents and looks forward to continuing to work together on these projects and the other traffic and safety improvements identified in the report. If community members have other feedback on traffic and safety improvement opportunities in Edgemont, they can contact the ECC at Safety@EdgemontECC.org.
Sincerely,
Dylan F. Pyne
President, The Edgemont Community Council