P’ville Moves to Lower Village Speed Limit, Install Saw Mill Parkway Camera
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Pleasantville officials are taking steps to reduce the 30-mile-per-hour speed limit on village roads and install a red-light camera on the Saw Mill River Parkway at Grant Street to help make the community safer for pedestrians.
A formal request to lower the speed limit was made by Samantha Hoover, chair of the village’s Pedestrian Safety Committee. In a Nov. 20 letter, Hoover said reducing the speed limit is “an easy, cost-effective and important step to increase safety for pedestrians in Pleasantville.”
Last year Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation giving municipalities the option to reduce speed limits to 25 miles per hour.
“The first step would involve having a traffic analysis done by a licensed traffic engineer who would review the impacts of a speed reduction by replacing all the traffic signs that say 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour,” said Village Administrator Eric Morrissey. “That type of analysis would cost about $5,000.”
A completed analysis would be presented to the board with recommendations. If the board decides to move forward and reduce the speed limit, a law would be drafted to amend the current code followed by a public hearing.
The cost of replacing the village speed limit signs was mentioned during last week’s work session but not fully discussed.
Earlier this year the Croton-on-Hudson Village Board lowered the speed limit on most of that community’s roadways to 25 miles per hour. Morrissey said he planned to contact Croton officials about the process and the results of their project.
Installing a red-light camera on the Saw Mill River Parkway at Grant Street and Pleasant Avenue was also discussed at the work session. The complicated, bureaucratic process to install the camera requires authorization by the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and for special state legislation to be approved and signed into law by the governor. The Saw Mill River Parkway is state owned but parkway enforcement is overseen by the Westchester County police.
“This requires the Village Board passing a resolution requesting a red light,” said Morrissey. “That sets the legislative process in motion.”
Questions were raised by the board regarding which entity would maintain the camera and monitor the footage and who would be responsible for enforcement, including the issuance of tickets.
Last summer Pleasantville residents living near the parkway raised concerns about speeding drivers who not only run red lights but also make illegal turns, causing frequent accidents. There are no left turns allowed off of the parkway onto Grant Street from the southbound lanes or onto Pleasant Avenue from the northbound side.
Mayor Peter Scherer said he has had conversations with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assemblywoman MaryJane Shimsky (D-Dobbs Ferry) about installing the red-light camera.
“There’s certainly some interest in it but among past problems and difficulties to getting approval in other situations is whether it becomes too broad and engages a constituency that doesn’t want it,” Scherer said. “The dream world for us would be that this could be established and everybody who goes through a red light gets a citation and it reduces speeding.”
The board was expected to vote on a resolution at Monday evening’s meeting formally requesting a red-light camera be placed on the Saw Mill River Parkway at Pleasant Avenue and Grant Street.
Abby is a local journalist who has reported on breaking news for more than 20 years. She currently covers community issues in The Examiner as a full-time reporter and has written for the paper since its inception in 2007. Read more from Abby’s editor-author bio here. Read Abbys’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/ab-lub2019/
