Monday night’s DPW input session about traffic and pedestrian safety focused on Byram, Chickahominy, Pemberwick and Glenville.
It was the fourth in a series of six meetings, and the panel of town officials listening from the dais included Jim Michel, Michael Kiselak, Pat LaRow, Greenwich Police Sergeant JD Smith, and Captain Jim Bonney.
View of development in Port Chester across the bridge from Byram. Photo: Leslie Yager
Byram
Byram residents focused their comments on Delavan Ave, from Mead Ave to the Exit 2 of I95.
Their concerns included speeding cars, increased traffic due to development in Port Chester, parking shortages due to out-of-state cars taking up on-street parking, and the new traffic configuration at exit 2 and the bump out and flashing beacons at the crosswalk by Burgers Shakes and Fries (Delavan and Veterans Way).
Kory Wollins who owns Burgers Shakes and Fries said drivers continue to disregard pedestrians in the crosswalk and fail to stop.
He urged DPW to “work proactively, in a continuous improvement process, checking back with the community and your own people to see the engineering solutions are working correctly.”
“And if they’re not working correctly, figure out in a real-time world and make changes to those modifications,” Wollins said.
“No one stops….If the police department are not going to stand there, at least for a little while, and hand out tickets or warnings, and say pedestrians come first, no one is ever going to stop.”
Lucy von Brachel said there had been a promise from the developers of Tarry Lodge to coordinate with Greenwich, but that hadn’t happened. “It’s terrible. It’s a mess and trucks back up on that,” she said, adding she had just seen an 18-wheeler truck go down Delavan Ave despite through-trucks not being allowed.
“There on there all the time,” she said. “We could use some more visibility in the neighborhood with the police department, and more enforcement so people see it’s not lawless out there,” she said.
She added she was disappointment that funding to improve crosswalks at Western Middle School and New Lebanon Schools had been cut for no apparent reason.
“This part of town is heavily trafficked. It’s really dense. We have a lot of kids. There are a lot of elderly people. We all walk and some of us use public transportation or ride bikes even though it’s dangerous.”
Von Brachel urged attendees to reach out to the BET and press for the Safe Streets 4 All funding.
Vin DiMarco, who regularly bikes back and forth between Pemberwick and Byram via Ritch Ave and Hamilton Ave urged adding sharrows on both side of the bridge and signage about yielding to bicycles.
Al Shehadi said pedestrians should be the top priority, and that raised crosswalks should be used in Byram to slow down traffic. He said years ago there had been talk about coordinating traffic lights between Port Chester and Byram.
“The lights in Byram, when you stop, is an all-way cross, but in Port Chester it is just a two-way cross, and pedestrians have to look over their shoulders for turning cars,” he said. “Please do not change the traffic lights in Byram to two-way cross.”
Shehadi said the redesign around the I95 exit 2 was problematic for the many pedestrians.
“The next time you do something like that, please talk to people in Byram. Whoever designed those – it was designed by someone who didn’t walk.”
Shehadi described walking from Byram Shore Rd to friends on the other side of I95 or walking from Delavan to the area of Byram Park had become quite a challenge after the recent reconfiguration.
Stephanie from Church Street West said the new lane configuration at I95 Eexit 2 on Delavan was dangerous.
“With the left turn only lane, I think that has been an adjustment and plenty of people go into the left turn only lane and go straight, which creates an issue where people are worried about merging under the bridge,” she said.
She added that the side streets near New Lebanon School were so congested there was no longer enough room for two-way traffic. She suggested changing some of the roads to one-way.
Matt Popp said he was a frequent walker in Byram. He said there is often an illegally parked car in front of the deli on Delavan across from Mead. As for the new bump-outs by BSF, he said many changes were approved at the end of the P&Z approval process without full professional review.
“And you end up with what we have now, an intersection where the radiuses don’t work and the signs get knocked over,” Popp said.
Damage in the bump out at Delavan Ave and Veterans Way in Byram. Feb 27, 2024 Photo courtesy Alex Popp
Jessica von Brachel said her teen was a new driver trying to follow the rules and was stymied by that left turn lane to Frontage others had complained about.
“He almost got hit twice,” she said. “The people in the left turn lane were cutting him off and he wasn’t sure whether to break the law and be safe or not.”
She said her husband had a crash by BSF, and while she agreed the bumpouts had slowed traffic, she said they were too big.
“The backups on Delavan are getting worse and worse,” she said adding that many residents had no choice but to take Delavan to get home.
Ms von Brachel, who teaches at GHS, also agreed with Ms Fantin that the Post Road bus stop was problematic.
“I think a lot more students started taking the bus during Covid and more and more kids are using it to get to and from school,” she said.
Lastly, she agreed with Ms Eckert about parking issues. In addition to cars parking too close to corners she said numerous large commercial vans park on side streets overnight.
“You just can’t see around them,” she said.
Michelle Carvajal recalled the speeding car that flipped over and crashed in front of her house on Mead Ave.
“We see daily the amount of cars flying up and down Mead Avenue,” she said. “We see kids every day – dog walkers, bikes, trikes and scooters – we need to address a way for pedestrians to walk safely with their families.”
She agreed that the rule for no parking 25 ft from an intersection was important to enforce because it blocked sight lines.
“We have called the police a few times when we see out-of-state cars parked on Mead Ave for more than 24 hours,” she said. “They’re taking up the precious space we do need for residents and their guests.”
Photo: Matt Popp
Jeff Benvenuto said the bump outs on Delavan Ave outside BSF needed to be revisited by DPW.
“I’m a trucker myself here in town, and it’s tough getting through there,” he said. “I don’t know how many incidents there have been there. There’s been a lot of damage – I saw a lot of broken car mirrors.”
Looking toward Byram from Port Chester. Sept 4, 2019 Photo: Leslie Yager
Mark Kordick from district 9 residents needed to hold the BET accountable for their failure to fund Safe Streets 4 All.
(There is an available federal grant that would pay $400,000 for a study if the town contributes $100,000. The plan needs to be completed in order for the town to apply for future grants for projects.)
“There is a faction of BET members that want to remain blissfully ignorant, purposefully so, about what the town needs to do for traffic safety, because if the plan is produced there will be pressure for them to fund the plan’s recommendations. It has nothing to do with the $100,000.”
Kordick said while DPW might focus on engineering solutions, it would be a mistake to overlook enforcement. He noted that the town’s annual report sums up results of each department’s work.
“The police department is not producing on an annual basis even 50% of the enforcement statistics in 2016, 2017 and 2018,” he said.
“The police department’s budget is the same, the number of personnel committed is the same. It’s an issue of forcing the police department to concentrate the budget we provide them on what we want, which is in large part more enforcement,” Kordick added.
“As evidenced by the turnout at this meeting, it is not the priority it should be, and not where it has been historically. You need to roll that into your study as an important component, not just your ‘enginerdiness.'”
Saunders Ketcham there had been an increase in traffic and speeding on North Water Street because it’s use as a conduit from Mill Street to the Post Road.
“It’s a tight street and a lot of people park on the sidewalk,” he said. “It’s a high density there. There’s a lot of families, a lot of pets…I’d beg for signage or any kind of crosswalk to slow traffic down.”
In Byram, a truck attempting to turn from Veterans Way onto Delavan heading north. Photo: Alex Popp
Liz Eckert said her husband and dog were run over in the crosswalk at Delavan and Veterans way.
“It was a life changing event for my entire family,” she said. “They survived but it was an incredible tragedy. We really need pedestrian safety measures put into place.”
She suggested ‘No Parking Here to Corner signs,’ because typically cars and large SUVs parked their cars right up to the corners side where children are walking to New Lebanon School.
She said many residents would like a residential parking permit program to be implemented because of the increased problem with non residents parking on the street, often blocking driveways.
She agreed with others that the bump outs by BSF were too big and that the new left turn light onto Frontage Rd needed a fix.
“People actually following the traffic rules can’t get over to get on I95 north because the whole left lane won’t let them in,” Eckert said.
“I’m going to end this with three words: Enforcement, enforcement, enforcement.”
Joe Kantorski described pedestrian safety improvements in Byram were a matter of life and death.
“Since 2013 there have been four fatal accidents in Byram, and with the construction of 1600 new units in Port Chester, things are really going to get out of hand,” Kantorski said.
He added that he strongly supported speed cameras and that coming off Exit 2 from south there was no speed limit sign, and drivers were unaware the speed limit was 25 mph.
Nancy Fantin who is legally blind and takes the bus from the east side of town to Byram and Pemberwick, shared her experiences.
“In Byram I go to Interstate Lumber so I think trucks cut through from William Street to Veterans Way. Perhaps there should be a sign there saying no trucks.”
She said she was pleased and thanked police for their frequent presence at Monica Rd at Pemberwick where people run the stop sign. She urged the addition of a crosswalk and maybe an all-way stop at Reynolds Place and the office park on Weaver street.
“The is a bus stop there and it’s very hard for cars to pull out from Weaver and office park, where many people walk their dogs.” She said her biggest challenge was crossing West Putnam Ave.
“We really need funding on it before I’m a gonner, like the nun who was killed there. It’s a major bus stop,” Fantin said.
Stretch of Pemberwick Rd with no sidewalks or shoulders and poor sight lines. Photo: Leslie Yager
Pemberwick-Glenville
Patricia Adams urged DPW to do an updated traffic study for accurate information to help prioritize issues, as well as review accident data.
She urged a seasonal 9:00am-1:00pm Sunday car-free road closure for walking biking and jogging on Pemberwick Road between Comly Ave and Halock Road. She said it would give children on both sides of Caroline Pond access to Pemberwick Park because there is no sidewalk along Pemberwick Rd.
Carol Zarrilli said the intersection by the old Stop & Shop was problematic. She said people turning left to continue on Glenville Street toward King Street cut into the lane of traffic next to them.
Also, she described the stretch on Pemberwick between Comly and Halock as the most dangerous in town. She noted there was an enormous rock outcropping and row of phone polls that protrude along one side, forcing people to go over the median line and making it very unsafe for pedestrians.
Amelia Szabo agreed with Zarrilli and Adams.
She supported a crosswalk at Pemberwick and Comly and that children dash across the busy street where cars are known to speed.
Andrea Blume from Pemberwick said the Waze app suggests drivers take Caroline Place/Fletcher as a cut-through.
“People are just racing through that street. There are no stop signs and no way to slow the cars. I’ve seen people drive 65 miles per hour. And there’s no sidewalks there.” She said Comly Ave and Pemberwick Road was very dangerous.
“There are three bus stops there, and no crosswalk and no stop – just a one way stop at the bottom of Comly Ave,” she said, adding a suggestion to make that intersection a three way stop.
Finally, she said roadway between Pemberwick Rd between Comly and Pemberwick Park had narrowed since barriers were added.
“If we can get a sidewalk, great, but at least to increase the lane width would be helpful,” she said.
Chickahominy
Syl Pecora said there should be no 18-wheeler trucks destined for the dump on the side streets like Josephine Evaristo Place, Charles Street or Hamilton Ave, and that there should be a 4 ton limit.
“Also, St. Roch’s Ave – why can’t they go out on the Post Road coming out of the dump with bigger trucks? There should be 95 signs saying where to go.”
Pecora said children on bikes were not following rules of the road and he feared someone would get hurt.
The last two meetings in the DPW series are May 1, 2024 for the entire town and May 16, 2024 for back country.
See also:
Central Greenwich Feedback to DPW: “We’ve Talked about the Same Intersections for 20 Years” April 27, 2024
Outpouring of Cos Cob Traffic & Pedestrian Safety Concerns Despite Uncertainty over Funding for Study April 11, 2024
Residents Urge Town to Add Crosswalks, Sidewalks, Enforcement in Old Greenwich & Riverside March 21
Speed Cameras, Enforcement with Fines Discussed by Board of Selectmen April 26, 2024