WHITE PLAINS TRAFFIC SURVEY SURFACES –OBSERVATIONS

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER SEPTEMBER 25, 2024:

Dear Common Council Members,

We just stumbled upon this WP Traffic Survey:

We don’t recall receiving a request to participate in this Traffic Survey. . .however since one of our daughters was hit by an aggressive driver last year while walking by the Firehouse on Old Mamaroneck, we felt we had a personal obligation to provide our thoughts on Traffic Safety in WP.  While we have enjoyed living here for the past 45 years. . .we have to say driving in WP right now is a lot more dangerous, particularly since the end of the Covid shutdowns.

We filled out the Traffic Survey although the questions appear to be more boiler-plate than reflective of current WP Traffic situations.  And we included our below comments in the Survey:

“The lower 25 MPH speed limit will help Traffic Safety. . .however most of the cut-thru drvers from other communities are not aware of our new 25 MPR limit. 

 For instance, Burke Rehabilitation, which has a 15 MPH limit on its own campus, has employees traveling at excessive speeds on Heatherbloom Road where there are no sidewalks.  So, the City needs to put electronic speed displays on all the cut-thru residential roads to improve driver communication and citizen safety.  

And at high-accident prone intersections increase the number of electronic displays for pedestrian protection in residential areas to the same level as in the Downtown.  

Also, the City should consider developing a simple list of “driving instructions” for the many distracted & aggressive drivers and for people who have never taken formal driving instructions. . .so they can actually learn to stop at stop signs and crosswalks. . .always use their turn signals when turning. . .and stop making U-turns over double-yellow lines, particularly on Mamaroneck Ave.

  Youth bicycling on certain streets at certain times is dangerous and should be discouraged, not encouraged.  And the City should consider regulating electric bikes and scooters which right now can be a menace to drivers, pedestrians and the riders themselves”.

For us Traffic Safety improvements always seem to be a “more-talk and less-action” topic.
 For example, the high-risk intersection of Mamaroneck Ave and Heatherbloom Road right now has essentially the same layout as it had when we moved to WP 45 years ago. . .despite a significant number of accidents over the years.  Also, local drivers at this intersection have been adversely impacted by the increase of large trucks, some with self-centered drivers, traveling to and from the City dump and construction sites.
We ask our elected officials to put a high priority on Traffic Safety right now in our City in order to prevent future injuries and deaths.
  And don’t treat the residential neighborhoods as second-class citizens compared to the Downtown area as far as the use of Traffic technological upgrades and improvements.
 We also ask that the City should do more to encourage additional citizens to give their thoughts and comments on the Traffic Survey because the more bottom-up comments and information you have the more accurate the Survey results will be for real Traffic Safety.

Thank you,

Marie and Ron Rhodes

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