Mt. Pleasant Officials Delay Decision on Road Closures, Traffic Woes

Mount Pleasant officials made no decision last week on whether or not to reopen two town roads that were closed last year because they had been overloaded with traffic.

At a public information meeting on the town’s recently-completed traffic study, Town Engineer David Smyth was joined by Brian Dempsey of DTS Provident Design Engineering of White Plains, whose firm conducted the study of the impacts of closing Belmont Road and West Stevens Avenue. Smyth said throughout the two-hour meeting that the town was still collecting feedback and comments from residents and evaluating the study.

Many in the crowd of more than 60 residents expected a decision regarding Belmont and West Stevens, which were closed last November. The roads are a well-traveled cut-through between routes 9A and 100. Several residents support keeping the roads closed while others want them re-opened.

The study, which was initially discussed last month at a Town Board work session, looked at speed, crash history, impacts on emergency vehicles and various alternatives to closing different roads.

Smyth said at the Sept. 30 meeting that town officials haven’t decided the future of Belmont Road and West Stevens Avenue and are still considering multiple options.

“We don’t have a final decision but we’re trying to approach traffic problems with the least amount of impact,” he said. “It’s a hot topic on both sides and we’re trying to get you as much information as we can. This meeting is another step to allow you to understand what we’re dealing with and what the impacts are.”

Smyth added that he has been looking into other localities that also have similar long, dead-end roads to see how traffic and emergency access is handled.

Alleviating Mount Pleasant’s traffic problems has been a growing concern as heavy traffic has been reported along Route 9A near the Amazon warehouse and Route 100 (also known as Bradhurst Avenue) between Route 141 and the Sprain Brook Parkway ramps.

Dempsey noted that there were few impacts resulting from the road closures in the last year.

“From a pure traffic standpoint there hasn’t been a level of service or capacity impact with the closures,” he said. “But there are some things in the works that can help in the future.”

According to Dempsey, one way to resolve some of the traffic issues will be when the state Department of Transportation (DOT) installs a traffic signal at the southern Skyline Drive exit. The DOT has already approved the signal.

“That may draw more Skyline people to go out that way and go south on 9A to get to the Sprain,” Dempsey explained.

Both Dempsey and Smyth didn’t know when the traffic signal would be installed.

Residents aired their concerns about emergency vehicle access to the roads that were closed and how the closures forced traffic onto other roads.

“Closing Belmont Road and West Stevens Avenue pushes traffic further north,” Smyth acknowledged. “It forces everyone else to divert to another road. That’s something the town has to take into consideration.”

Others asked about North 80, the three million-square-foot mixed-use project proposed for the Grasslands campus that would be the home to biotech and medical research along with retail, housing and a science museum. The project includes a new connector road from Skyline Drive to Hospital Road.

Smyth repeatedly said the future of North 80 is up to the town’s Planning Board, which is currently reviewing the project.

Domenick Vita of Pythian Avenue pointed out that statements and complaints have been filed with the Planning Board about how important the connector road is to the community.

Smyth said the town will be posting signs about upcoming Planning Board meetings.

“We wanted to let residents know when the North 80 project comes before the Planning Board,” he said. “The signs will be seen all over town.”

Many reported that keeping the roads closed made their neighborhoods more livable and safer because of the reduced traffic.

Resident Patricia Halpin, another Pythian Avenue resident, praised town officials for hiring a professional firm to conduct the traffic survey.

“And I’m glad the town held the meeting to get the input from the community,” Halpin said. “I’m also very happy the roads are closed. They should remain closed.”

But one Valhalla resident who attended the meeting, Glenn Accocella, said the closures of Belmont and West Stevens is both an inconvenience and can push traffic to other areas, including onto Bradhurst Avenue. Bradhurst Avenue, where Accocella lives, and the nearby Grasslands Road have heavy traffic at times, made worse by vehicular volume generated by Westchester Medical Center and Westchester Community College, among other destinations.

He would like them reopened.

“I feel like the way the roads are in Mount Pleasant, they shouldn’t be looking at closing any roads,” Accocella said. “For passenger vehicles and stuff like that and for people that live in the area, I think that all should remain open. For commercial vehicles, I get it.”

Smyth encouraged residents to continue e-mailing the town about their traffic concerns. He said there will be additional upcoming meetings scheduled to address road and traffic challenges.

“Tell us about your experiences, your questions and concerns because we’d like to package the hot topics, which we can all discuss,” Smyth said.