As the state embarks on a $3 million study to examine dangerous conditions along Route 9A, Briarcliff Manor residents can weigh in on ways to fix the decaying roadway during a workshop later this month.
A public workshop on the state Department of Transportation’s engineering report will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 21, at Todd Elementary School, 45 Ingham Road. Anyone who can’t attend can send an email to Sandra.Jobson@dot.ny.gov at the DOT.
The workshop follows the DOT’s May 11 announcement of a 10-month study encompassing a roughly 10-mile stretch from Route 9 in the Town of Ossining to the Saw Mill River Parkway in Mount Pleasant.
The report will identify short- and longer-term measures to enhance safety and operations along the busy corridor.
Methods of relieving congestion and improving air quality will be appraised, as will potential solutions to prevent flooding along the Pocantico River near Route 9A.
The state has begun collecting information including traffic count data. A report on existing conditions and a plan for the future will be developed this summer. Transportation alternatives to support the modernization of the corridor are expected later this year, and final recommendations based on public comments, costs, impacts and recommendations are expected in 2024.
Upwards of 48,000 passenger vehicles and trucks a day rumble through the corridor where residential and commercial development has swelled since the road opened as the Briarcliff-Peekskill Parkway in the 1930s.
“This study will plan major upgrades of the Route 9A corridor and have a lasting impact on our region for generations to come,” said Briarcliff Manor Mayor Steven Vescio, who noted in 2022 that 120 accidents a year occur on the 2.5-mile stretch in his village alone. “The solutions derived from this analysis will resolve long standing safety issues, flooding, poor air quality and traffic flow that have plagued the roadway for decades.”
Vescio has been complaining for years to the state about myriad trouble spots, like the Pleasantville Road overpass that’s too low for some trucks to squeeze under; lack of a breakdown lane; dividers and guardrails in disrepair; and scores of potholes.
Assemblymember Dana Levenberg said her office receives more complaints about Route 9A than any other road in her district.
“As an Ossining resident myself, I agree with those callers. Route 9A is in dire straits and in need of a major overhaul. I am so glad that this study is getting underway, and I will continue pushing hard to get the funding we need to get this road fixed as soon as humanly possible.”
Town of Ossining Supervisor Elizabeth Feldman noted the corridor had become a major thoroughfare for truck traffic, especially the waste haulers heading for the incineration plant in the City of Peekskill.
The narrow road, low bridges, tendency to flood and proximity to wetlands make Route 9A a headache for motorists, she said.
Route 9A is an obstacle course of potholes and uneven surface. It causes car tire and alignment issues. Worse, it causes accidents as drivers try to avoid the hazards.