Dear Editor:
Starting in September 2025, first-graders of the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns will attend the Tappan Hill School. Kindergartners will follow at a later date.
Located on Ichabod Lane in the Crest neighborhood of Tarrytown, the Tappan Hill School is surrounded by busy commuter thoroughfares (Altamont, Highland, Marymount, Rosehill, and Union Avenues, and Crest Drive). None of these streets have sidewalks or bicycle lanes, making them inhospitable to pedestrians and cyclists. Eight years ago, a resident-led effort to introduce sidewalks did not get past the prototype stage.
When the school opens in three months, increased traffic in the neighborhood will make the existing situation even more dangerous. Concerned parents as well as Livable Tarrytowns have been in dialogue with officials in the Village of Tarrytown for almost a year to bring about infrastructure changes that will allow for walking and biking safely to and from the school. A petition with 62 signatures from residents within 3/10 mile of Tappan Hill has been submitted to the Village of Tarrytown.
The school district’s “Student Wellness” policy calls for, among other things, the promotion of “walking/biking to school (with proper storage of bicycles), safe routes to school, and ‘walking’ school buses.” Accordingly, Livable Tarrytowns has proposed various measures, among them “quick-build” walking lanes on surrounding streets, involving the installation of concrete or plastic delineators.
The Public Schools of the Tarrytowns can also improve walkability on their campus by widening the sidewalk and moving parking away from its edge. Currently, parked vehicles often intrude on the sidewalk.
To bring about such changes, Livable Tarrytowns has called upon Tarrytown’s Board of Trustees to hire a planner to propose low-cost, short-term solutions as well as a long-term transformation to support walkability.
We encourage parents and neighbors who care about this issue to contact Tarrytown’s Trustees and voice support for walkable schools.
Sincerely,
Giselle Schuetz
Joseph Nevins
Coordinators, Livable Tarrytowns
