DPW’s “Quick Build” Pilot Project on Rt 1 by NY State Line Takes Neighbors by Surprise

Thursday’s Board of Selectmen meeting featured a first read from the Dept of Public Works Engineering Division for a pilot “quick build” project that Michael Kiselak said would impact the intersections of Byram Road and Pemberwick Road at Route 1 close to the NY state line.

If approved the pilot would start at the end of August and run through October.

The “quick-build trial” would not include pedestrian enhancements such as crosswalk striping, signage, curb ramps or sidewalks.

The quick build trial would use temporary elements like bollards, rubber tires and jersey barriers to create a right turn only lane coming from New York to turn onto Byram Rd and to narrow Rte 1 in either direction to one lane from two, reducing conflict points and serving as a traffic calming measure.

There are CT Transit bus stops on both sides of Route 1, but there are no designated crosswalks across Rte 1 in what is considered a reasonable walking distance.

 

On the positive side, Mr. Kiselak said quick-build materials are easily disassembled if problems arise.

Kiselak said that if successful the pilot program could be converted to a permanent installation, coordinated with the Army Corps of Engineers’ Byram River Bridge project at the state line.

He also acknowledged there were potential drawbacks to the proposal including the shortened weaving distance coming from Port Chester New York to CT where lanes are reduced from two lanes to one, lowering overall capacity through Rte 1.

Selectwoman Lauren Rabin said it was important not to confuse the proposed quick-build project with the Army Corps bridge project (over Byram River) on the NY/CT state line. That bridge project will likely take place possibly several years after this proposed DPW pilot program.

During public comment, former State Rep from the 149th district Rachel Khanna said that last year, she and her Democratic House colleagues secured a $450,000 Urban Action Grant for safety improvements for Byram Road and Pemberwick Road along Rte 1 after discussions with residents concerned about crossing Rte 1, and that they were for crosswalks.

“We heard about the need for crosswalks as well as signaling that would make it safer for pedestrians. That’s what the state approved the $450,000 for,” she said.

After the meeting State Rep Steve Meskers said in an email, “I was proud to have worked with Rep Rachel Khanna and the community to secure funding for crosswalks on the Post Road by the border with Port Chester. The funding was intended to be a big step toward improving safety in our community.”

“I am disappointed to see that the money we secured for crosswalks is going to be used for some type of road narrowing experiment,” Meskers added.

“I’m also disappointed that we were never consulted after working with Rachel to secure said funds. Frankly, I am surprised that the funds we advocated for would be appropriated and used in this manner.”

During the Selectmen meeting four members of the Byram Neighborhood Association and one member of the Pemberwick-Glenville Association shared reservations about the proposal.

Alex Popp, who has lived in Pemberwick and Byram for 64 years, said, “This plan is facing many challenges and it is highly likely this plan will elevate the number of accidents and hazards. It will  actually reduce the safety. I would expect many more car crashes. Additionally it is a plan without community input.”

Mr. Popp said the BNA met last month and he wished DPW has shared the proposal then for feedback because instead it came as a surprise.

“My quick view is that traffic coming from Port Chester will bottleneck into a single lane headed both south and north, creating one single flow of vehicles that will make merging from Byram Road or Pemberwick Road almost impossible,” Popp said. “I would expect congestion on Byram Road to be even worse, and lengthy backups.”

“I can’t imagine that Port Chester would approve this plan,” he added, going on to suggest that DPW plans be peer reviewed by an outside agency in future because he said there had been design flaws of their projects in the past.

Liz Eckert, chair of the BNA, said she only learned through a private conversation of the proposal the previous week.

“When something this big is happening in a community, and residents are going to be directly affected, reach out. That’s why we have neighborhood associations,” Eckert said.

Ms Eckert said she supported increased traffic and pedestrian safety, given her husband and dog were struck by a car in a Byram crosswalk, but urged there be community input earlier in the process.

Mr. Camillo said the town had acted to improve safety at that particular crosswalk/intersection in Byram.

“It did take a couple of tries with that intersection, but it is working better and has slowed traffic down,” Camillo said.  “Point taken.”

The strongest words of opposition came from Al Shehadi who is the land use chair of the BNA and longtime resident of Byram.

“We would like this plan to be reconsidered. We are against it,” Shehadi said.

He asked the project to be put on hold to give time for DPW to meet with residents and go back to the drawing board.

Shehadi agreed the intersection was ‘hugely dangerous,’ and the concept of a quick build was good.

“If the town had done a quick build around ‘Kory’s corner,’ (a reference to Kory Wollins’ Burgers  Shakes Fries at the corner of Delavan and Veterans Way) where (Ms Eckert) Liz’s husband got injured, you’d have found out pretty easily that what was laid out in granite was not enough turning radius for trucks coming out, and it would have saved the town a lot of money.’

“I don’t think it’s a good idea here,” he said, adding that not only was there no input from the community but that the plan was not what the state recommended.

“There was a whole road safety audit completed in 2018 that looked at the five most dangerous intersections on Route 1 from town border to town border – this was one of them,” he said, adding that the recommendation was either a HAWK signal at the Pemberwick intersection, or full traffic lights.

HAWK signals are illuminated when activated by a pedestrian, triggering yellow flashing warning lights.

“The distance that people are crossing, the speed of traffic particularly coming down, and a host of issues, you need something stronger than RRFB’s (rectangular rapid flashing beacons). There was no mention of RRFB’s in the safety audit,” Shehadi said. “Why do a road safety audit and ignore what its recommendations are?”

Shehadi said one of the reasons the $450,000 grant was issued instead of a $50,000 grant was because HAWK signals and full traffic lights are expensive.

“The delegation has gone out of their way to get this big amount of money,” he added. “Let’s use that money to do something, particularly at the Pemberwick intersection.”

Mr. Camillo said the project would not be rushed and might incorporate more than a second read.

He said public feedback would be collected and funneled to Mr. Kiselak.

Vin Dimarco from the Pemberwick-Glenville Association said he was concerned about the timing. “Is it possible to have a real workshop in this time frame?”

“We’re going to go through the BNA,” Camillo said. “And also anybody else is free to reach out to DPW or directly or me – they have my number.”

“I really want to see something done, but it needs to be much more detailed,” DiMarco added.

Barbara Heins asked if there had been pedestrian counts, noting there isn’t even a sidewalk on the south side of Rte 1 between the two CT Transit bus stops.

“I’m curious as to where there is an issue with pedestrian accessibility and if there is information on the need for pedestrian accessibility,” she said.

See also:

On the Selectmen Menu: ‘A Road Diet’ for Rte 1 at New York Line