Traffic Roundabout Proposed for Chappaqua Crossing Intersection
Representatives for Chappaqua Crossing developer Summit/Greenfield submitted detailed plans last week to the state Department of Transportation (DOT) proposing a roundabout at Route 117 and Roaring Brook Road to help ease traffic congestion near the site.
Space for the roundabout would be accommodated mainly by using land owned by the developer closest to the 116-acre former Reader’s Digest property, said John Collins, the applicant’s traffic engineer. It would likely improve the rating of the intersection from a D, E or F grade, which is a poorly functioning to failing intersection, to a B, Collins said.
Plans were drawn up after feedback from the DOT and comments at public hearings about the problematic intersection, particularly during peak hours when added traffic arrives and leaves the nearby Horace Greeley High School campus. DOT officials have also been encouraging municipalities and developers to explore roundabouts in Westchester as a method to combat traffic issues in certain areas, Collins said.
Discussion on the proposal was outlined at the Sept. 29 joint meeting involving the New Castle Town Board, planning board and board of architectural review.
A 75 percent submission was filed with DOT last Thursday, showing one lane of traffic in each direction approaching the intersection and going around the circle. There would be outlets for Roaring Brook Road and the entrance to the Chappaqua Crossing complex, which would be shifted from its current location on Route 117 to near the existing intersection.
Collins said the roundabout would be constructed with the ability to activate a second lane, although current volume projections do not warrant that option. There would also be a bypass lane heading northbound on Route 117. As currently proposed, the traffic signal at the intersection would be eliminated.
Town officials said they are concerned about the lack of pedestrian crossings, particularly with county Bee-line bus stops near the location, and the difficulty and danger for Annandale Drive residents to turn onto Route 117, especially without a signal.
“It’s tough to get out into traffic right now,” said Supervisor Robert Greenstein. “It would be difficult for those people on Annandale.”
But Collins said unlike larger circles, which are designed to move traffic along at faster rates of speed, the smaller roundabout is intended to slow traffic. He recommended against maintaining a light at the intersection to discourage drivers from using Annandale Drive as a cut-through.
“This is intended to be a 20-mile per hour speed limit,” Collins said of the roundabout. “It’s created to make them slow down.”
Andrew Tung, the project planner for Summit/Greenfield, said the plan would require amending the Preliminary Development Concept Plan (PDCP). A public hearing was scheduled for next Tuesday, Oct. 13 for residents to weigh in on the plan.
Also discussed at last week’s joint meeting was the Retail PDCP. Felix Charney, Summit/Greenfield’s president and CEO, said that the health club provider that has been retained for Chappaqua Crossing, Lifetime Fitness, has requested a 40,000-square-foot, two-story space. The retail component, which would also include a 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods, would contain smaller establishments totaling 120,000 square feet.
Town officials expressed reservations about custom-building a structure for a specific tenant. They pointed to the difficulty filling long vacant former Borders bookstore site in Mount Kisco, also a two-level space.
“I’m trying to visualize who might be the next tenant of a building like that,” said planning board member Thomas Curley.
Town Board members also wanted Charney to ask Lifetime Fitness representatives whether they would also install a swimming pool to benefit the community, most notably the Horace Greeley High School swim team.
Charney said that he would make the request to Lifetime but the company has not been receptive to that elsewhere. With tight deadlines to maintain Whole Foods and other tenants at Chappaqua Crossing, he also warned that making too many changes at this late stage could jeopardize those commitments. He said he would discuss with the town in the future finding space at the Chappaqua Crossing campus for a pool facility.
The planning board is scheduled to devote tonight’s (Tuesday) meeting entirely to the Chappaqua Crossing review, as it will do for the first meeting for each of the next two months.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/