The Jogging Jeweler has complied a list (by village/town) for residents to consider in their own research, problem solving, and to raise awareness among more members of our community. Within each list I will provide the blog numbers that photographic or video footage can be found demonstrating the problems.
| Ardsley 1st Edition - No Sidewalk Saw Mill River Rd |
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Notice anything....There is no sidewalk.
Yes, you still see snow on the side of the road because I've got a backlog of videos I need to write about.
A reader asked that I run down Ogden - I did. Then across the Saw Mill and into Ardsley via the South County Trailway. The only way to get back into Dobbs Ferry from Ardsley is to run over the bridge, which can not be accessed from the Trailway and requires running on Saw Mill River Road.Â
There are no sidewalks on either side of this road that is under some pretty heavy construction. Screenshot below is an image of the South County Trailway in Ardsley.Â
With the development of the Danforth Apartments along the Saw Milll River Parkway, pedestrians have limited access to Ardsley, their options being
1. Exiting the South County trailway by House of Sports or,
2. Â Continue onwards exiting the trail in the park, past Heatherdell Road, Starbucks, Rev, and multiple other businesses.
To exit the South County Trail located near House of Sports requires some agility as you have to get over the guardrail. This is not handicap or stroller accessible.Â
Whether there is a sidewalk allowing for pedestrians from the North end of Ardsley into the village is not a course I have ran, yet. Based on Google Map images there do not appear to be sidewalks leading from the trail towards Starbucks.
What does this mean?
Well - either the Danforth apartments are attracting some adventurous pedestriansÂ
- or  -
there will be more vehicles on the roads of Ardsley - Just. Like. Every. Other. Rivertown.Â
Our villages and residents need to accept and acknowledge that our roads were built at a time when most households were lucky to have 1 car. Now, many households have 2 or more, depending on how many teenagers they have. If you take the number of existing households, multiple that by 2 - that's double what our roads were built for - whenever they were actually built.
Now add in the new developments every Rivertown has and while were at it, add in the dramatic increase in popularity of cycling - our roads are being shared by a larger population than ever before.Â
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What can we do?
Maintain the sidewalks you have, so they feel and look accessible to all pedestrians...
Trim trees, so people don't need to duck
Keep shrubs & bushes pruned, sidewalk space is limited enough
Shovel the snow, sweep the leaves
Fix the broken - elderly stumble & trip, runners leap, & strollers knock those babes around
Don't have a sidewalk? Help the neighbor that does, ever heard "it takes a village"Â
Speak up - Complaining about developments and traffic is not motivation for getting solutions. Write letters to motivate actions that allow for town dwelling pedestrians to feel that choosing to walk within our villages is convenient, safe, healthy, and beautiful.Â