Byram Leader Describes “Crisis” with Traffic & Pedestrian Safety; Urges Selectmen to Do More

Thursday’s Selectmen meeting agenda included a discussion about the possibility of adding speed bumps and speed reduction signage in Byram.

Liz Eckert, chair of the Byram Neighborhood Association, told the Selectmen that Byram was having “a crisis with traffic and pedestrian safety.”

“I would appreciate it if you would consider my presence here today a cry for help from the citizens of Byram,” she said.

The Board of Selectmen are the town’s traffic authority.

Eckert said that in just the previous few days there had been multiple crashes including a head-on collision involving a third car that crashed into a local business in Byram, a t-bone incident at Church St West and Mead Ave, (the intersection that leads into New Lebanon School and Byram Shubert Library), and a crash into a residential home on Delavan Ave.

She said that sadly a neighbor, Antonio Carlos Cavalcante, known as “Tatu” to his friends and neighbors, lost his life as a direct result of injuries sustained when he was struck in the crosswalk at Henry St and Mill Street back in February.

Mr. Calavante remained in the hospital since February, but succumbed to his injuries.

Eckert said her husband had also been hit on Delavan Ave in 2019 and continues to be impacted by his injuries.

Further, Eckert said parking violators in Byram are causing an immediate threat to pedestrians and vehicular traffic, including cars parked blocking sidewalks and abutting stop signs.

She said she’d contacted Deputy Chief Jim Bonney from Parking Services and walked the neighborhood with Evan from Parking Services this week and they had offered to request additional signage from the Selectmen.

Speeding
Eckert said many times she had asked DPW for speed bumps and raised crosswalks, and been told that it was impossible because it would delay emergency vehicle response times.

“I find this confusing because there are speed bumps and raised crosswalks in other areas in Greenwich – just not in Byram,” she said.

She noted that Bryam resident Clare Kilgallen had researched “speed cushions,” which she said don’t slow emergency vehicles.

Further she said she had requested that Police Chief Jim Heavey locate a speed camera on Delavan Ave by the Windrose School (alternative high school), in the next round as it was not included in the initial selection of eight locations by schools.

She noted that Delavan Ave was a school zone, but in addition to the Windrose School, New Lebanon School is located just off Delavan.

First Selectman Camillo said despite an aversion to “littering the landscape with signage” anything that slows cars down would be considered.

Vin DiMarco who runs a business on Henry Street in Byram also asked for consideration of speed tables, cushions or speed bumps.

“There is only the ‘share the road with bicycles’ sign from Frontage Rd to Delavan,” he said. “It seems silly we have that one sign but don’t continue messages that there could be bicycles or scooters along Delavan to the Mill Street bridge.”

He said “sharrows” were not a be-all-and-end-all solution, but they let vehicles know they are sharing the road with other means of transportation.

“There is also behavior,” he said, suggesting there was another way to calm traffic naturally.

“Byram does not have a center. It’s hidden – you have the library and school and green space back there. Why would anybody want to go slow? They’re just trying to get to the thruway,” DiMarco said.

“As a perception thing, I suggest right next to the firehouse, there’s a little house – if the town could acquire that house and create a village green like they have in Glenville and Old Greenwich, it becomes the entry and gives visibility to the school and the library and slow traffic down – a sense that you’re in a community and not just a pass-through street.”

Camillo said said because Byram was a cut-through, “We have to try everything we can.”

He said he had suggested shutting down the Mill St Bridge to vehicular traffic at a 2019 Port Chester Zoning Board meeting, during discussion of the multi story apartment building now nearing completion called Tarry Lighthouse.

Indeed, at the time, Camillo spoke extensively in Port Chester, saying, “If it is a public safety issue for us. We’d look at any and all options, including closing the bridge.”

At the time, however, the Port Chester board did not respond to the suggestion.

 

“You just can’t get through there at certain times of the day. God forbid somebody gets a heart attack and an emergency vehicle is stuck behind all that (traffic),” Camillo said. “We want to hear ideas out of the box.”

“Right now it is a parking lot and always has been, but it’s getting worse,” Camillo said.

Ms Eckert said Al Shehadi, Treasurer of the BNA, who was unable to attend the meeting, had been studying traffic calming measures and submitted a memo with suggestions.

Shehadi, a longtime member of Transportation Alternatives, a NYC advocacy organization for making streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, said in the memo to the Selectmen that while visiting friends in Brooklyn, he documented successful traffic-calming measures implemented there over the last 30 years, saying they could easily be implement in dense, walkable areas of Greenwich like Byram, including:

Speed Humps (Bumps)
According to the NYC OpenData website, NYC has installed more than 4,000 speed humps since 1996. As defined by the NYC DOT, speed humps are a raised area of a roadway designed to reduce vehicle speeds. The online speed hump data set includes a map of all speed humps installed in NYC along with a downloadable data base.

Raised Crosswalks
More recently, NYC has been installing raised crosswalks as an additional traffic calming measure. NYC DOT defines a raised crosswalk as A marked pedestrian crosswalk at an intersection or a mid-block location constructed at a higher elevation than the adjacent roadway.

“I and other residents interested in making the streets of Greenwich safer for pedestrians and bicyclists have been dismayed by remarks by the Board of Selectman and, separately, by DPW Commissioner Michel, that Greenwich is unable to implement physical traffic calming measures because they will impede the ability of Greenwich’s fire, police and ambulance services to respond to emergencies. The experience of NYC over the past 30 years implementing traffic-calming measures such as speed humps and raised crosswalks should make clear that attitude is incorrect and outdated. If NYC can implement these kind of traffic calming measures at scale, there is no reason the Town of Greenwich can’t also do so,” Shehadi wrote.

After the meeting, the BNA provided several photos of recent crashes. Here are some of them:

 

The BNA surveyed members on Facebook survey for ideas and suggestions. Here are some of the responses:

“Would love another RFB for the crosswalk at the Byram Road stop sign at Frontage. Also better lighting along frontage rd,” Megan Cutler

“Byram Road & Henry intersection….speeding cars. Cars don’t always stop at the sign. Maybe a bump or two would be a good idea.” – Sandoval Darli

“Speeding cars near New Lebanon School. Stop signs in both directions at Mead Avenue and Church Street West where the children cross the street.” – Lori Stelling

“Speed cameras on Delavan. Maybe an all-way stop sign at Tingue Street would help, since the problem is cars using the stretch from Veterans to 95 like it’s an on-ramp.” – Nick Wiltsie

“I live on delavan, almost daily there are accidents. i also walk very early in the morning, multiple mornings while walking in the cross walk at a red light w a walk sign- between 4-5:30 am, cars go around the stopped car and turn right on the light, or fly completely thru the red- while i’m walking- i’ve been almost hit more times i can count by people doing this. last night in the beach someone was driving crazy through the beach the wrong way. It takes me a moment to cross on even a WALK light due to this. when crossing the street at BSF, i’d say 4 out of 10 cars actually stop at the flashing lights in the cross walk. I won’t even let my kids walk home by themselves from New Leb, due to this. it’s horrible and once or twice. a week we’re left jumping out of th way for distracted drivers in Byram.” – Jessica Licata

“It would be great to show all the other parts of town that have the things we are asking for in Byram. Mianus school has speed humps…why can’t we have speed humps. North street has speed enforcement from GPD – why can’t Byram have that?”– Nicole OConnor

“So sad , the pedestrian that was hit by Rosina passed last week , it didn’t have to happen, if people weren’t so careless.” – Mary Rosenstock

“My list-Stop signs at Byram and frontage so that cars coming off the
highway have to stop- also another pedestrian walkway and lights to cross there. Why did they remove the left arrow to turn onto frontage? Finally put a dead end sign clearly at the corner of frontage and Louden. I have an album of pics of large container trucks getting stuck on louden.” – Cathy Moo

“Chestnut/Pine/spruce etc: 1. The “drag racing” all hours. (Most residents can attest to the sounds). 2. The consistent parking past the “no parking” making it unsafe at stop signs. 3. The double parking on the grass&street obstructing view of traffic (I have photos) – on Chestnut especially” – Nicole Alexandra