Letter to the Editor: Update on Sleepy Hollow Roads

To the Editor:

Ken Wray

Our latest meeting with NYS DOT was this past FridayFebruary 25th.

We discussed:  

making Rt 9 one-way in both directions, from the Old Dutch Church through to Beekman Avenue, with designated turning lanes for 448, Pierson, Beekman and Pocantico;
for the 448/New Broadway/Beekman intersection, the timing of traffic lights and the location of crosswalks;
Adding safety features and enhancements to the island between Old Broadway and Rt 9.

It’s important to understand where DOT is coming from:

It has very different objectives from the Village for roads under its jurisdiction. Simply put, DOT wants cars moving fast and we want them moving at slower and safer speeds;
DOT has been hammered by budget cuts over the past 12 yearsbut that is changing with the new Governor and the Federal monies designated for infrastructure;
DOT likes to work in tightly defined sections of its roadways.  As an example, here in Sleepy Hollow the case we are making to DOT — one lane on Rt 9, north and south would complete the transformation for Rt 9 that DOT started in 2014 along Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and the Manors.

To expedite this process, the Village will engage a traffic engineer to provide the study needed to enable DOT to move forward on our requests.  Because DOT is setting the parameters for the study, they cant come back later with what if…”  Another a tactic (and we learned this from Senator Harckham): dont wait for DOT to allocate the funding for these studies because that can take years.  If you can pay for these studies yourself, just do it.

We will keep you posted.

Ken Wray, Mayor
Village of Sleepy Hollow

1 Comment

  1. You didn’t discuss the abysmal surface condition of Rt9 in Ossining and Sleepy Hollow? Potholes everywhere. The road is a total embarrassment and needs a complete resurface.

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