The human impact of closing the Grant Street crossing
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Updated: 2024-07-01 - 16:04:00 PM - Added additional information about the lack of enforcement and compounding traffic problems when trucks hit the bridge going north or when the Saw Mill entrances are closed due to flooding.
The Grant Street crossing and the area surrounding it have significant traffic and safety problems. The intersections at Grant Street and the Saw Mill and Grant Street and Manville Road are among the most dangerous intersections in Pleasanvtille.
Pleasant Avenue residents complained about speeding on their street for so long that a radar speed limit sign was installed. However, this has had minimal impact on speeding in the neighborhood.
Lines were painted on part of Pleasant Avenue to help constrain drivers and make them naturally reduce their speed. However, the single yellow line in the middle of the street does not follow the MUTCD rules and has made the street more confusing.
Grant Street also has a speeding problem that has been ignored by the village for decades. Using the state approved techniques behind VASCAR we have recorded vehicles going up to 57 MPH on Grant Street. The particular vehicle that was recorded reached 57 MPH after being stopped at the light on Manville and obtained that speed by the middle of Grant Street. This indicates aggressive acceleration which amounts to reckless driving. When presented with this evidence the village refuted its validity but offered no other interpretation of the data.
Red light running at the Grant Street intersections is rampant. Drivers not wanting to be "stuck" at the lights at either side of Grant Street run the lights every day. In our original study we recorded a red light runner on average every 5 minutes at the Saw Mill and Grant Street intersection.
A red light camera has been discussed but writing a few tickets doesn't actually prevent crashes.
Grant Street has no turn on red signs at both lights. Every day drivers ignore these signs and turn onto Manville Road and the Saw Mill illegally. Drivers that make the illegal right turn on red onto Manville often do not notice people in the crosswalk.
Drivers on the Saw Mill traveling south make illegal right and left turns onto Grant Street. Even though there is signage that clearly indicates that no turns are permitted it has little impact. Several rear end crashes have occurred because of this.
Drivers on the Saw Mill traveling north occassionally make the illegal left turn at the Grant Street intersection and this has also caused rear end crashes.
Multiple drivers traveling north on the Saw Mill have also caused rear end crashes while attempting to make a U-turn to go south. Some of these U-turns were made from the right lane.
Despite signs at the beginning and end of Grant Street multiple trucks enter the Saw Mill from Grant Street every day. We don't usually see the impact of the northbound trucks because the first bridge they encounter is in Chappaqua but sometimes they get stuck and cause significant backups. Large tractor trailers going south often block traffic as they try to negotiate the tight turn in the middle of the intersection and then cause further delays as they have to either back up (with or without assistance from county police), hit the bridge, or have to deflate their tires to barely squeeze under the bridge.
Kids riding their bikes across the parkway at night
Several times we have seen kids crossing the parkway at night on their bikes without waiting for the light to change.
There has already been one serious, possibly fatal, crash involving a pedestrian here in the past year who didn't wait for the light. Unfortunately it's just a matter of time until one of these kids is struck by a vehicle while crossing. This will happen whether they wait for the light or not.
Even with the walk signal I have narrowly avoided being hit several times while crossing the Saw Mill on foot. My neighbors and friends have reported the same thing.
Some drivers on Grant Street don't even wait for the light to turn green before proceeding through the intersection. As soon as they see the Saw Mill traffic stop they assume they can go. This makes the extra delay that is supposed to give pedestrians time to start crossing effectively useless.
The traffic studies have shown that Grant Street is already beyond capacity to act as an entrance to the Saw Mill and causes significant delays for drivers.
This congestion gets significantly worse when the Saw Mill is closed because a northbound truck hits the bridge. This forces all Saw Mill traffic to go through Pleasantville to Grant Street. Any alternative used by drivers in this situation would avoid focusing all the congestion into Memorial Plaza and Grant Street.
Do you know how long it should take to get to the Saw Mill if you have to go around the bridge and go through Grant Street? 3 minutes. But it can take 30 minutes or more because of the congestion.
Do you know how long it takes to get to the Saw Mill if you have to go around the bridge and take Bedford Road to Chappaqua? 9 minutes. And guess what, with the additional space to relieve congestion that's available it actually takes 9 minutes.
A similar problem arises when the Saw Mill entrance at Marble Avenue is closed due to flooding.
Drivers at Saw Mill and Grant Street intersection are so impatient that they honk for people to enter the Saw Mill even when there are people in the crosswalk.
They honk at people to encourage them to make the illegal right on red.
People making the illegal left onto DePew honk at people illegally blocking the intersection.
Drivers that don't realize people can park on Grant Street honk and yell at parked cars.
There is one thing that can fix 100% of these problems for very little cost. The intersection at Grant Street and the Saw Mill can be closed to behicular and pedestrian traffic.
Nobody can run the light if there's no road there.
No trucks can mistake the Saw Mill for a normal road if there's no road there.
Drivers won't fight to clog Memorial Plaza and the other downtown streets if there's no road there.
All drivers can take the existing, wider through streets to the entrances on 117 and Marble Avenue.
Nobody will have to deal with the anxiety of having to cross the Saw Mill on foot.
No kids will be tempted to ride their bikes across a highway at night.
All pedestrians and cyclists can take the existing sidewalk to the bridge that has a real, raised pedestrian section with a hand rail.
This is the simplest, cheapest, and fastest option to get rid of these problems and probably several more I have missed. The state is never going to do anything. We had our chance decades ago when the state offered to build a pedestrian bridge and residents voted against it. The residents couldn't imagine closing one of four entrances to the Saw Mill.
The human impact of closing the Grant Street crossing
If there are any errors in this page please open an issue.
Updated: 2024-07-01 - 16:04:00 PM - Added additional information about the lack of enforcement and compounding traffic problems when trucks hit the bridge going north or when the Saw Mill entrances are closed due to flooding.
Current village traffic and safety problems
The Grant Street crossing and the area surrounding it have significant traffic and safety problems. The intersections at Grant Street and the Saw Mill and Grant Street and Manville Road are among the most dangerous intersections in Pleasanvtille.
Pleasant Avenue speeding
Pleasant Avenue residents complained about speeding on their street for so long that a radar speed limit sign was installed. However, this has had minimal impact on speeding in the neighborhood.
Lines were painted on part of Pleasant Avenue to help constrain drivers and make them naturally reduce their speed. However, the single yellow line in the middle of the street does not follow the MUTCD rules and has made the street more confusing.
Grant Street speeding
Grant Street also has a speeding problem that has been ignored by the village for decades. Using the state approved techniques behind VASCAR we have recorded vehicles going up to 57 MPH on Grant Street. The particular vehicle that was recorded reached 57 MPH after being stopped at the light on Manville and obtained that speed by the middle of Grant Street. This indicates aggressive acceleration which amounts to reckless driving. When presented with this evidence the village refuted its validity but offered no other interpretation of the data.
Red light running
Red light running at the Grant Street intersections is rampant. Drivers not wanting to be "stuck" at the lights at either side of Grant Street run the lights every day. In our original study we recorded a red light runner on average every 5 minutes at the Saw Mill and Grant Street intersection.
A red light camera has been discussed but writing a few tickets doesn't actually prevent crashes.
Illegal turns onto and off of Grant Street
Grant Street has no turn on red signs at both lights. Every day drivers ignore these signs and turn onto Manville Road and the Saw Mill illegally. Drivers that make the illegal right turn on red onto Manville often do not notice people in the crosswalk.
Drivers on the Saw Mill traveling south make illegal right and left turns onto Grant Street. Even though there is signage that clearly indicates that no turns are permitted it has little impact. Several rear end crashes have occurred because of this.
Drivers on the Saw Mill traveling north occassionally make the illegal left turn at the Grant Street intersection and this has also caused rear end crashes.
Multiple drivers traveling north on the Saw Mill have also caused rear end crashes while attempting to make a U-turn to go south. Some of these U-turns were made from the right lane.
Trucks entering the Saw Mill illegally
Despite signs at the beginning and end of Grant Street multiple trucks enter the Saw Mill from Grant Street every day. We don't usually see the impact of the northbound trucks because the first bridge they encounter is in Chappaqua but sometimes they get stuck and cause significant backups. Large tractor trailers going south often block traffic as they try to negotiate the tight turn in the middle of the intersection and then cause further delays as they have to either back up (with or without assistance from county police), hit the bridge, or have to deflate their tires to barely squeeze under the bridge.
Kids riding their bikes across the parkway at night
Several times we have seen kids crossing the parkway at night on their bikes without waiting for the light to change.
There has already been one serious, possibly fatal, crash involving a pedestrian here in the past year who didn't wait for the light. Unfortunately it's just a matter of time until one of these kids is struck by a vehicle while crossing. This will happen whether they wait for the light or not.
Drivers not seeing pedestrians in the crosswalk
Even with the walk signal I have narrowly avoided being hit several times while crossing the Saw Mill on foot. My neighbors and friends have reported the same thing.
Some drivers on Grant Street don't even wait for the light to turn green before proceeding through the intersection. As soon as they see the Saw Mill traffic stop they assume they can go. This makes the extra delay that is supposed to give pedestrians time to start crossing effectively useless.
Congestion at Memorial Plaza
The traffic studies have shown that Grant Street is already beyond capacity to act as an entrance to the Saw Mill and causes significant delays for drivers.
This congestion gets significantly worse when the Saw Mill is closed because a northbound truck hits the bridge. This forces all Saw Mill traffic to go through Pleasantville to Grant Street. Any alternative used by drivers in this situation would avoid focusing all the congestion into Memorial Plaza and Grant Street.
Do you know how long it should take to get to the Saw Mill if you have to go around the bridge and go through Grant Street? 3 minutes. But it can take 30 minutes or more because of the congestion.
Do you know how long it takes to get to the Saw Mill if you have to go around the bridge and take Bedford Road to Chappaqua? 9 minutes. And guess what, with the additional space to relieve congestion that's available it actually takes 9 minutes.
A similar problem arises when the Saw Mill entrance at Marble Avenue is closed due to flooding.
Noise
Drivers at Saw Mill and Grant Street intersection are so impatient that they honk for people to enter the Saw Mill even when there are people in the crosswalk.
They honk at people to encourage them to make the illegal right on red.
People making the illegal left onto DePew honk at people illegally blocking the intersection.
Drivers that don't realize people can park on Grant Street honk and yell at parked cars.
Lack of enforcement
We have been told by the local government that they don't have the resources to enforce:
The fix
There is one thing that can fix 100% of these problems for very little cost. The intersection at Grant Street and the Saw Mill can be closed to behicular and pedestrian traffic.
Nobody can run the light if there's no road there.
No trucks can mistake the Saw Mill for a normal road if there's no road there.
Drivers won't fight to clog Memorial Plaza and the other downtown streets if there's no road there.
All drivers can take the existing, wider through streets to the entrances on 117 and Marble Avenue.
Nobody will have to deal with the anxiety of having to cross the Saw Mill on foot.
No kids will be tempted to ride their bikes across a highway at night.
All pedestrians and cyclists can take the existing sidewalk to the bridge that has a real, raised pedestrian section with a hand rail.
Conclusion
This is the simplest, cheapest, and fastest option to get rid of these problems and probably several more I have missed. The state is never going to do anything. We had our chance decades ago when the state offered to build a pedestrian bridge and residents voted against it. The residents couldn't imagine closing one of four entrances to the Saw Mill.
We don't need to ask for permission.
We don't need to raise taxes.
We don't need money.
We don't need enforcement.
We just close it. End of story.
What other option is there?