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At the request of a reader we traveled up Ashford Ave and down Ogden to capture what traveling is like for a pedestrian in this area of Dobbs Ferry. As you witness in the video above - we are counting cars again. 10 cars pass without stopping.
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Following up on a previous blog about the frequent curbs encountered on a recent run in Hastings. When we posted our blog to the 10706 page we received a few comments and suggestions - which were taken seriously and followed through on. The comments basically eluded to emailing the HOH board a Notice of Defect - to which we titled our email.
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The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council has opened a public comment period through 4 p.m. on Friday for street and sidewalk improvements as well as Metro-North railroad bridge projects throughout Westchester and Rockland counties.
The state proposes amendments to the Federal Fiscal Years 2017-2021 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The comment period provides an opportunity for public feedback on the proposed changes to the TIP.
They are looking for comments regarding the following areas in the Rivertowns:
THIS is an opportunity to make a difference, but let's be purposeful in our comments as they are in regard to ADA Compliance specifically - meaning wheelchair, handicap, and disabled accessibility. Think of the sidewalks and curbs along Main St - are they accessible to people in wheelchairs, with walkers, the blind, or others with disabilities?
Specifics we can comment on:
1. The Intersection of Chestnut and Main St (as pictured below) does not have ramps available from all directions. Forcing people into oncoming traffic to use a ramp facing another direction to enter the sidewalk.
2. The intersection of Main St/ Livingston/ Walnut has a similar issue - a lack of ramps, again forcing people into oncoming traffic to enter the sidewalk without a curb.
3. Also - given the opportunity to raise awareness to pedestrian safety issues within the Village the lack of crosswalks along Main St should be raised as well. Technically - we have ONE crosswalk on Main St - at the corner of Chestnut & Main. The next is at the Livingston/Walmut intersection. Neither of these crosswalks aid the portion of Main St that currently has the most foot traffic - the area between Cedar & Chestnut. Where clients to Sams, Readers, The Post Office, Home Again, Gary's Pharmacy, The Beauty Parlor, and many, many more!
Why does sending in comments help?
Comments are incorporated into notes about each project, and sent out with the ballot to the voting members of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, members can choose whether or not to react to those comments. The voting members of the Metropolitan Planning Organization have 5 days to vote, after which projects are added to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
If you would like to comment:
Comments are due in writing by 4 p.m. on Friday, March 24 to:
New York Metropolitan Transportation Council,or, by emailing: Oluseye.Folarin@dot.ny.gov
P.S. - I plan to run Main St., up one side and down another, this afternoon to post a video tonight regarding Main St that we can share in our emails to NYDOT. If you know of more places along Main St that are questionable to ADA Compliance PLEASE COMMENT - that way others who may feel motivated to send an email in the next 24 hours can include those things!
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Welcome back for the second part of analyzing the results from the OCA Survey. The remaining two questions to be reviewed are...
Takeaways...
What answers outside of those provide on the survey does this give us about the OCA?
Takeaways....
This question "broke" about half through the survey, and had to be reset. Whomp! Whomp! The answers to this question are based off of 104 users. Do not despair, we have the recent tally to compare to the survey results.
Tally Vs. Survey
What does this tell us? And how do we improve the OCA for any and all groups?
Last time I checked - when you love something, you treat it nicely. Perhaps its time we ask that the OCA is shown some proper love?
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First - to address the participation in this survey, you all were outstanding! THANK YOU! Supporting the cause and driving education of our community is the first step into developing enhancements that we all benefit from. 224 of you demonstrated working together on this survey, that makes this Jogging Jeweler brimming with sunshine in pride for our Rivertowns!
Second - the devil is in the details, we're taking it slow and breaking the survey into two blogs. All of the information is important and to keep from losing people on the survey results of questions three and four, they'll be posted in a blog tomorrow.
So - read on, share, talk about how many people use the OCA & of course, stay tuned!
Takeaways...
Does usage of the OCA directly impact the residents of our villages on a regular basis? - Yes.
Why? - Of the top three groups of users - 159 people use the OCA weekly. Include the fifth group, which was not a majority, however uses the OCA frequently (11-16 times/month) - 187 people use the OCA weekly. That's 83% of the people that took the survey using the OCA at minimum once per week, but typically more.
Takeaways...
Going to break it down village by village, adding details where due as again - the devil is in the details.
Did one village demonstrate more usage over another? Hastings-on-Hudson clearly rocked the survey, however as mentioned above it did benefit from sharing within the community. HOWEVER - let this be an excellent demonstration why sharing is caring! If you want something addressed, you need people - lots of people - people talking about the lack of crosswalks, asking questions about where you run, pointing out flaws in your survey, and sharing the desire to create safe roads, sidewalks, and trails.
Now that we're buried beneath snow and ice, my recent run on an atypically warm March day seems like ages ago - ice ages! Sun warming my face, I passed more pedestrians that day than recently and that got me wondering - How many people use the OCA and why do they use it? And so - began the tally of pedestrians and the types of pedestrians encountered.
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Always researching and seeking data to enhance pedestrian safety, I have created an online poll about local usage of the Old Croton Aqueduct. On a recent run during one of these last warm days, (video/blog to be posted soon) I wondered how many of our local residents use the OCA on a semi-regular basis. I certainly see an uptick in other pedestrians on the warmer, sunny days than the not-so nice days.
Help me, help you - take the quiz and share via Facebook! The more we know the better we can face the facts and present our case to the local BOT's that the OCA needs attention in the form of signage, crosswalks, and more!
(Blog Photo Credit - Nadia Fante)
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Oh Broadway & Clinton/Oak Street in Dobbs Ferry - always a willing participant to provide documentation for this quest to make our streets safer.
Problem(s): This intersection is a doozie! So, based on the above experience I want to review some of the issues at this particular intersection and then apply some suggested solutions.
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The Old Croton Aqueduct, running smack through the middle of Hastings, Dobbs, and Irvington and onwards, it is a New York State Park and has National Historic Landmark Status.
Problem: As seen in the video above, the OCA practically vanishes as it passes through Dobbs Ferry. There are no signs to suggest which way it may continue, as a pedestrian one assumes to continue onward traversing streets, through a parking lot, and an alley. There are NO crosswalks throughout downtown Dobbs Ferry to suggest that this trail, State Park technically speaking, is passing through and/or is a heavily used passage by dog-walkers, moms pushing strollers, runners, bikers, and local students.
Solution: There are several solutions for this issue. However I am going to identify two that can be easily tackled by the village to better identify the OCA as it crosses five of our downtown streets:
Did you know?
Continue reading1. The cost of striped crosswalks range from approximately $100 to 2,100 each, or on average approximately $7 per square foot. A high visibility crosswalk can range from $600 to $5,700 each, or around $2,500 on average.
- Pedestrian & Bicycle Info Center
Running along Broadway, to Hastings-On-Hudson went better than other runs thus far. Our route had sidewalks, crosswalks, good sight lines for seeing traffic which means few blind spots. This route was chosen as warmer weather melted the snow and the OCA was too muddy for this stroller pushing momma. However - the run was not necessarily smoother.
Problem: Hastings-On-Hudson has curbs... lots of curbs. The photo demonstrates at least six, including ones coming in and out of the local high school - what happened to being handicap accessible? I caught seven in my footage, however knowing what the Old Croton Aqueduct is like through Hastings [think bigger curbs] I speculate there may be more curbs that were not captured in this footage.
Solution: According to Complete Streets -
Continue readingStreets that are truly “complete” provide all of us with a choice of mobility options. They allow everyone to travel to and from work, school, and other destinations with the same level of safety and convenience, whether or not they have mobility, vision, or cognitive disabilities.
Complete Streets also help people who are coping with temporary disabilities as well as those pushing strollers, pulling wheeled luggage, or managing large packages. Complete Streets policies provide flexibility to transportation professionals and give them room to be creative in developing solutions that promote accessible travel. Operating under a policy can prompt a deeper analysis and encourage them to work with community members with disabilities.
In roadway design, Complete Streets means attention to details at intersections, such as installing curb ramps, audible or tactile signals for blind pedestrians, and/or providing longer crossing times; along pedestrian routes by providing smooth sidewalks free of obstacles...