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The Jogging Jeweler

The Jogging Jeweler #28

The Jogging Jeweler #28

The Jogging Jeweler

|NEW POV for Dobbs Ferry Crosswalks |

This blog's readers amaze me!! Another reader sent in imagery of what crosswalks could look like in Dobbs Ferry. See images below - I'll discuss each as we go. 

The Jogging Jeweler - Route 9, Dobbs Ferry High School, Pedestrian Safety, Safe Routes

Location: Route 9 in front of Dobbs Ferry High School (DFHS)

Problems:

  1. Multi-lane Route 9 offers pedestrians no safe haven when crossing
  2. Multi-lane Route 9 promotes higher speeds by drivers, they think it is a road - when actually it is a street coming through our villages. 
  3. Drop-Off/ Pick-Up at DFHS causes traffic flow problems and pedestrian safety issues.
  4. Crosswalk locations are ill-placed and not enough.

Solutions:

  1. Add turn lanes.
  2. Add pedestrian refuge islands.
  3. Re-direct traffic flow in front of DFHS.
  4. More, better placed crosswalks.

Tackling the OCA

The Jogging Jeweler - Route 9, the Old Croton Aqueduct, Pedestrian Safety

Location: Route 9 in Dobbs Ferry where the OCA crosses

Problems:

  1. Multi-lane Route 9 offers pedestrians no safe haven when crossing
  2. Multi-lane Route 9 promotes higher speeds by drivers, they think it is a road - when actually it is a street coming through our villages. 
  3. Crosswalk location is ill-placed and not enough.
  4. Coming from Hastings, the OCA is not visible, putting pedestrians at risk.

Solutions:

  1. Add pedestrian refuge islands.
  2. Extend curbs to reduce speeds & shorten distance crossed by pedestrians
  3. More, better placed crosswalks.
  4. Add blinking pedestrian crossing signal to indicate pedestrian usage.

 The Jogging Jeweler - The Old Croton Aqueduct, Pedestrian Safety, Dobbs Ferrry

Location: Elm where the OCA crosses

Problems:

  1. OCA can not be seen by drivers.
  2. No crosswalk.
  3. Pedestrians can not see drivers & vice versa.

Solutions:

  1. Extend curbs to narrow road & slow drivers.
  2. Add a crosswalk.
  3. Extended curbs allow pedestrians visibility to oncoming traffic & drivers can see pedestrians.

Main St AreaThe Jogging Jeweler - Elm at Main in Dobbs Ferry

Birds-Eye View of Elm Crosswalks

The Jogging Jeweler - Elm St & Main St in Dobbs Ferry, Pedestrian Safety

Street preview

Location: Elm St & Main St

Problems:

  1. No crosswalk.
  2. Pedestrians can not see drivers & vice versa.

Solutions:

  1. Add a crosswalk.
  2. Extend curbs to shorten crossing distance.
  3. Extended curbs allow pedestrians visibility to oncoming traffic & drivers can see pedestrians.

 An Overview of Needed Crosswalks

To demonstrate the entirety of all the crosswalks needed in the downtown area of Dobbs Ferry the following images demonstrate the locations crosswalks should be placed for optimal safety and higher levels of visibility of pedestrians. 

Cedar Street 

The Jogging Jeweler - Cedar St Crosswalk locations in Dobbs Ferry, Pedestrian Safety

North End of Main Street + OCA crossings

The Jogging Jeweler - Main St in Dobbs Ferry, Pedestrian Safety

South End of Main Street + OCA Crossings

The Jogging Jeweler - South End of Main Street in Dobbs Ferry, Pedestrian Safety

All together now...

The Jogging Jeweler - All Suggested Crosswalks in Dobbs Ferry, Pedestrian Safety

What can we do?

  • See something you like?? ....talk about it! Share it on Facebook! Write the BOT, Mayor, Rivertowns Enterprise!
  • Visualize....Convenient + Safe = More people walking = Village & local businesses thriving! So, before "Those pesky crosswalks take up parking"  which I've heard a few (dozen) times...Realize some of our parking spaces are over-sized and can be slightly reduced to invest in the safety of our residents (think cute, small children) crossing the streets. 
  • About Route 9... COME to the meetings on June 15th & June 17th
  • Wave... If a driver has stopped a short little hand raise to acknowledge & give thanks.

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The Jogging Jeweler #27

The Jogging Jeweler #27

The Jogging Jeweler

| Rt 9 Public Meeting Details |

Sidenote: HAPPY GLOBAL RUNNING DAY! :-)

I'll be out this afternoon celebrating Running Day.

PS - I love the honks, waves, and cheers, it makes pushing my faithful sidekick (who weighs 45lbs these days) much easier! Just stay safe!!

The more important news...

Nelson Nygaard, transportation engineers, will attend the Route 9 meetings on June 15th & 17th. They will present a brief introduction to the project and then provide an open and informal setting for the sharing of ideas. They plan to staff four stations for attendees to provide input, ideas, comments, and suggestions. There will also be choices that people can make to articulate their preferences. These stations will have an illustration board to post notes and stickers. 

What can we do?

  • Come prepared - Bring notes on problems & solutions.
  • Participate - This is your opportunity to provide input on a state road! Carpe diem!
  • Be Open - Expect different experiences, perspectives, and knowledge - there could be many solutions or combinations that solve a problem.
  • Ask Questions - Bring your thinking caps, engage with people from other villages, and ask them questions. 

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The Jogging Jeweler #26

The Jogging Jeweler #26

Frequent Comments to The Jogging Jeweler

  • Did you hear another pedestrian got hit?
  • I made comments to the village about Broadway but the replied it's a state road.
  • OMG - Broadway is AWFUL!
  • I don't let my kids walk around Dobbs, unless they can get there on the OCA. 

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The Jogging Jewelry #24

The Jogging Jewelry #24

Save the Date:

   Thursday, June 15
   7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
   Hastings Community Center
   44 Main Street, Hastings on Hudson, NY 10706

   Saturday, June 17
   1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
   Warner Library
   121 North Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591

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The Jogging Jeweler #21

The Jogging Jeweler #21

At the request of a reader we traveled up Ashford Ave and down Ogden to capture what traveling is like for a pedestrian in this area of Dobbs Ferry. As you witness in the video above - we are counting cars again. 10 cars pass without stopping. 

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The Jogging Jeweler #18

The Jogging Jeweler #18

The Jogging Jeweler

|The Old Croton Aqueduct Usage - Part 3.2 |

Welcome back for the second part of analyzing the results from the OCA Survey. The remaining two questions to be reviewed are...

How far do you travel on the OCA?

The Jogging Jeweler, The Old Croton Aqueduct, Westchester, Rivertowns, Dobbs Ferry, New York State Park, Runner

Takeaways...

  • 2-3 miles - 80 votes
  • 3 - 5 miles - 72 Votes
  • 1 mile - 51 Votes
  • 5 - 7 miles - 33 Votes 
  • Adding up the higher mileage groups (2-7 miles) we have 185 users or 82.5% of users on the OCA for at least a one mile stretch - meaning a majority of users are traveling at least one direction for a mile and turning around.

What answers outside of those provide on the survey does this give us about the OCA?

  • Using Dobbs Ferry, a central location for the Rivertowns, one mile on the OCA heading North gets you through Mercy College campus and just over the Irvington border. One mile South on the OCA from Dobbs Ferry, gets you into Hastings.
  • Most likely users are on the OCA in more than one village - crossing multiple streets without crosswalks. 

 

Why do you use the Old Croton Aqueduct?

The Jogging Jeweler. The Old Croton Aqueduct, Westchester, Rivertowns, Dobbs Ferry, Hudson Life, runner, New York State Park

Takeaways....

This question "broke" about half through the survey, and had to be reset. Whomp! Whomp! The answers to this question are based off of 104 users. Do not despair, we have the recent tally to compare to the survey results. 

  • In this question users were allowed to select multiple answers as the OCA provides many different types of users - we had 104 users, and 191 answers. 
  • Walkers - 76 Answers
  • Running - 46 Answers
  • Dog Walking - 27 Answers
  • Bicycling - 25 Answers
  • School - 12 Answers
  • Work - 5 Answers

Tally Vs. Survey

The Jogging Jeweler, The Old Croton Aqueduct, Westchester, Rivertowns, Dobbs Ferry, Runner, Hudson Life, New York State ParkThe Jogging Jeweler, The Old Croton Aqueduct, Westchester, Rivertowns, Dobbs Ferry, Runner, Hudson Life, New York State Park

  • Walkers dominate both the tally and survey. 
  • The survey results skewed lower for students as they most likely are not on the Facebook groups this survey was posted in - limiting their ability to provide answers. 
  • Dog Walkers in both the Survey and Tally, are similar, 12% and 14%, respectively.
  • The Work group in the tally does not show as based on visuals it is difficult to know if someone is walking to and/or from work, unless they were to be specifically asked like in the survey. 
  • Runners & Bicycles both nearly doubled in the survey versus the tally. 

What does this tell us? And how do we improve the OCA for any and all groups?

 

  1. Walking users are the OCA largest subset - Perhaps installing OCA entrance signs throughout the villages and/or village guides to indicate locations of attractions & needs.
  2. Dog walkers - Wonder if they are the subset that pushes higher on the frequency of use? Maybe adding trash cans so avoid dropped bags of pooh.
  3. Athletes - Runners/Bicycles - This tally likely changes with the weather - snow, ice, rain and mud likely create fair weather users in these subsets. Leveling out entrances where terrain meets road so there is no broken pavement or curbs to push bicycles and strollers over.
  4. Students - Based on the tally results, students are nearly 1/3 of all users - most likely during the school year and at times directly before/after school. Can we get some crosswalks for these kids?

Last time I checked - when you love something, you treat it nicely. Perhaps its time we ask that the OCA is shown some proper love?

 

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The Jogging Jeweler #17

The Jogging Jeweler #17

The Jogging Jeweler

|The Old Croton Aqueduct Usage - Part 3.1 |

First  - to address the participation in this survey, you all were outstanding! THANK YOU! Supporting the cause and driving education of our community is the first step into developing enhancements that we all benefit from. 224 of you demonstrated working together on this survey, that makes this Jogging Jeweler brimming with sunshine in pride for our Rivertowns!

Second - the devil is in the details, we're taking it slow and breaking the survey into two blogs. All of the information is important and to keep from losing people on the survey results of questions three and four, they'll be posted in a blog tomorrow.

So - read on, share, talk about how many people use the OCA & of course, stay tuned!

Question #1 - How often do you use the OCA?

The Jogging Jeweler, The Old croton aqueduct, Rivertowns, Westchester, Hudson life, New York State Park

Takeaways...

  • The leading group (55 Votes) - 17 times or more/month. In a four-week month, that is four visits to the OCA per week. 
  • The Second leading group (54 votes)  - 2-4 times/month, one visit per week in a four-week month. 
  • Third Leading group (50 votes) - 5-10 times/month, 2-3 visits per week in a four-week month. 

Does usage of the OCA directly impact the residents of our villages on a regular basis? - Yes.

Why? - Of the top three groups of users - 159 people use the OCA weekly. Include the fifth group, which was not a majority, however uses the OCA frequently (11-16 times/month) - 187 people use the OCA weekly. That's 83% of the people that took the survey using the OCA at minimum once per week, but typically more. 

 

Question #2 - Where do you enter the OCA?

The Jogging Jeweler, The Old Croton Aqueduct, Rivertowns, Westchester, New York State Park, Hudson Life, Runner

Takeaways...

Going to break it down village by village, adding details where due as again - the devil is in the details. 

  • Hastings - 81 Votes - Sharing is caring. Boy did HOH turn out! The survey was shared more by the residents of HOH, so more than likely their skew of higher numbers is a result of that. 
  • Irvington - 52 Votes - Irvington welcomed our family to the Rivertowns. My experiences there do not surprise me that this village turned out the votes, when Irvington gets behind something, they go after it & are a force I admire. 
  • Dobbs Ferry - 50 Votes - My hometown, the village I was concerned would skew the results because of knowing a larger portion of the audience did not in fact skew to being higher. Take what meaning you will from that...
  • Tarrytown - 39 Votes - Tarrytown surprised me, they're just far enough north that I wasn't sure our survey would reach or relate, but 39 votes!
  • Yonkers - 2 Votes - Not shocked, Yonkers was the only town I could not find a community group for on Facebok, unless I'm missing it? (I'm sure if there's one a kind and smart person will point it out for me :-)

Did one village demonstrate more usage over another? Hastings-on-Hudson clearly rocked the survey, however as mentioned above it did benefit from sharing within the community. HOWEVER - let this be an excellent demonstration why sharing is caring! If you want something addressed, you need people - lots of people - people talking about the lack of crosswalks, asking questions about where you run, pointing out flaws in your survey, and sharing the desire to create safe roads, sidewalks, and trails. 

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    The Jogging Jeweler #16

    The Jogging Jeweler #16

    Now that we're buried beneath snow and ice, my recent run on an atypically warm March day seems like ages ago - ice ages! Sun warming my face, I passed more pedestrians that day than recently and that got me wondering - How many people use the OCA and why do they use it? And so - began the tally of pedestrians and the types of pedestrians encountered. 

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    The Jogging Jewelry #15

    The Jogging Jewelry #15

    The Jogging Jeweler

    | Survey: The Old Croton Aqueduct Usage |

    Always researching and seeking data to enhance pedestrian safety, I have created an online poll about local usage of the Old Croton Aqueduct. On a recent run during one of these last warm days, (video/blog to be posted soon) I wondered how many of our local residents use the OCA on a semi-regular basis. I certainly see an uptick in other pedestrians on the warmer, sunny days than the not-so nice days. 

    Help me, help you - take the quiz and share via Facebook! The more we know the better we can face the facts and present our case to the local BOT's that the OCA needs attention in the form of signage, crosswalks, and more!

    (Blog Photo Credit - Nadia Fante)

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    The Jogging Jeweler #13

    The Jogging Jeweler #13

    Oh Broadway & Clinton/Oak Street in Dobbs Ferry - always a willing participant to provide documentation for this quest to make our streets safer.

    Problem(s): This intersection is a doozie! So, based on the above experience I want to review some of the issues at this particular intersection and then apply some suggested solutions.

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