Road Diet / Bike Lane for Old Saw Mill River Rd -- Greenburgh & Mount Pleasant NY

Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2016 15:04:51 -0400
From: Daniel Convissor <danielc@panix.com>
To: Paul Feiner <pfeiner@greenburghny.com>, Carl Fulgenzi <cfulgenzi@mtpleasantny.com>
Subject: old saw mill river rd resurfacing & restriping

Dear Mr Feiner and Mr Fulgenzi:

Mr Feiner, my belated thanks to you and your crews for resurfacing the portion of Old Saw Mill River Rd between Regeneron and Rte 9A. I hope the remaining stretch between Regeneron and the Tarrytown line can be tackled this season.

When it comes to restriping, safety would be improved in the area by adjusting the road to have one through lane in each direction with turn lanes added for access to the Parkway. This will provide some space for a "shoulder" that can be used by cyclists commuting through the area.

Mr Fulgenzi and Mr Feiner, similarly, the already resurfaced portions of Old Saw Mill River Rd and the west end of Grasslands Rd over Route 9A should be given a "road diet" treatment. Convert the road to one lane in each direction, which would provide a generous safe zone for cycling. One lane is adequate to support the motor vehicle volumes in the area.

One might say, well, there's a "bike path" on the Regeneron property. That facility serves no purpose. People riding east would need to wait to cross traffic in both directions, turn into the driveway, turn onto the lane, then at the other end, go up a hill, turn into the driveway, wait to cross both directions of traffic and proceed. Folks riding west would need to slow down dramaticaly from coming down the hill, turn onto the driveway, turn onto the path, turn onto the driveway, then wait for an opening in traffic. Both directions also have to deal with crossing three driveways. All of those shenanigans to ride on a path for, something like one thousand feet.

The County has a plan to link that bike path to the North County Trail, the hospital campus and Valhalla. It's a nice plan for recreational purposes. But around the Saw Mill River Parkway it's indirect and has a steep hill. The path also doesn't serve people riding to the offices, stores, play center and brewery along Executive Blvd. Thus the road diet is still needed.

I've met several Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown residents who work for Regeneron, attend the Medical College and the Community College. Most have expressed interest in riding their bikes to work/school, but they're afraid to do so with the current roadway configuration. There's demand for these improvements. I hope you'll meet them.

Sincerely,

Daniel Convissor
26 Maple St
Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591

[See my follow up email too. --DC]


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