Mt. Kisco Requests Traffic Study for DOT to Improve Key Intersection
Mount Kisco village officials are withholding support for proposed improvements by the state at the busy Route 117/172 intersection until they can review a traffic study to gauge the impacts on the area.
The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking the village’s approval of a utility work agreement. The agency stated in a November letter to Village Manager Edward Brancati that if any village-owned utilities needed to be moved the state would pick up the cost.
The DOT is seeking to eliminate yields for vehicles – one where Route 117 intersects with Route 172 going east and another where Route 117 intersects with 172 going west, eliminating right hand turn lanes known as slip lanes. Trustee Peter Grunthal said last week the slip lanes and yield signs and the two existing islands would be eliminated. An additional short stretch of lane will be added to the main lanes for right hand turns coming in from 172 and North on 117, he said.
Brancati said last week the DOT is proposing to eliminate the yields and have traffic routed to traffic lights at both locations. In addition, crosswalks would be created by the state, he said.
The purpose for the proposed changes is safety, Brancati said. Currently drivers are yielding for oncoming traffic but may not see pedestrians crossing the streets, he said. The intersection features heavy vehicular traffic along Route 117 and from traffic turning onto Route 172. It is also where Northern Westchester Hospital is located.
Grunthal said pedestrian crossings would be added across all four roads leading into the intersection, including the roadway coming in from the hospital. The pedestrian crossing on Route 172 near CVS will be eliminated, he noted.
Though routes 117 and 172 are state-owned roads, the DOT is seeking Mount Kisco’s permission to move any of the village’s utilities to accommodate the roadwork.
At the Dec. 18 Village Board meeting, Mayor Gina Picinich and village trustees declined to approve the DOT’s request until they see a completed traffic study from the state. Picinich instructed Brancati to write a letter urging the agency for a study.
“It appears this will be an improvement for pedestrians with the addition of the crosswalks. Improving movement through the intersection for drivers should also be an outcome of the project,” Picinich said Saturday. “As of yesterday, the DOT has not provided a traffic study which was requested by the Board of Trustees. We need to see the data to understand if these changes will ease the traffic congestion that often occurs.”
“The Village Planner (Jan Johannessen) and Engineer (Anthony Oliveri) are working with Ed Brancati, our village manager to make recommendations regarding, signage, landscaping and aesthetic improvements,” Picinich added.
Brancati said last week he has asked the DOT verbally and by letter for a copy of a traffic study, if one has been done, but the agency has not responded to his requests.
Construction is anticipated to start later this winter or in early spring and be completed toward the end of this year, said DOT spokeswoman Gina DiSarro.
“The project at the intersection of Route 172 and Route 117 in the Village of Mount Kisco will improve the safety of the intersection, both for motorists and pedestrians,” DiSarro said. “The New York State Department of Transpiration has been and will continue to be in contact with the village while the project progresses.”
Michael Caruso, vice president of facilities management at Northern Westchester Hospital, said the hospital supports the DOT’s road reconstruction project.
“Northern Westchester Hospital is aware of this work scheduled by the New York State Department of Transportation that will create much-needed crosswalks allowing pedestrians to cross these busy routes safely,” Caruso said. “Northern Westchester Hospital has worked with the DOT to ensure that the safety of our patients, visitors and staff is paramount in these plans.”
