The
topic du jour in the Town of Greenburgh lately seems to be about
pedestrians being struck by cars throughout the Town. Sure, there are other hot
topics, but another pedestrian was struck near the Hartsdale four
corners area last weekend. This elderly gentleman sustained serious injuries
with what we were told included a possible fractured skull. Using
video evidence, police saw the victim walk on Central Avenue and turn
onto East Hartsdale Avenue, where he walked past the crosswalk and
was hit in the middle of the left turning lane, police said. The car
didn't stop, according to police. Greenburgh police located the car,
a 2018 Honda CRV that was driven by an 87-year-old Hartsdale man. No charges have been filed.
This
is significant not only because someone was struck and seriously
injured by a car, but that it was another hit and run accident as
well. While it's a bad thing that has happened, it seems
that more and more of the accidents are hit and runs, with drivers not
staying at the scene. We also seem to have lost common sense when it
comes to either walking in or crossing the streets. In fact, on
Saturday afternoon two staffers mentioned that they were waiting at a
traffic light in Hartsdale when a young millennial couple walked from
between two cars to cross the street roughly 20 feet from the raised
crosswalk. The guy was looking at his girlfriend and she was texting on her
cell phone. Both were oblivious to their surroundings. Situational
awareness: missing. Accident waiting to happen: probable.
In
the Saturday local daily paper, there was a headline for an
article stating that "Greenburgh Strives to Improve Pedestrian
Safety After Series of Serious Accidents." Interesting
perspective describing that the Town residents and officials are
exasperated and grasping for solutions. And yet, at every turn, the
same points are highlighted with the same non-solution solutions.
Truth be told, part of the blame falls squarely in Mr Feiner and his
Town Board's lap. After all, they have been allowing all kinds of
construction and development to happen throughout the Town for both
residential and business structures, inherently increasing traffic
without redeveloping the infrastructure to handle the increased
traffic, flooding, water usage and power needs. The excuse given at
every project's hearings is that the traffic study doesn't prove that
changes are necessary, only that it'll be a minimal increase in traffic, etc.
Flooding is reduced to catch-basin usage. No one ever discusses what
happens when they're full.
The
Fulton Park Civic Association has been requesting sidewalks on Old
Kensico Road, commonly referred to as Old Kensico Speedway, but Mr Feiner chose to place the burden of the
request onto one resident and seek to have him seemingly offend his
neighbors. While that backfired for Mr Feiner, Fulton Park is
still without a sidewalk and two people were seriously injured when
they were recently struck by cars on it. At least one was a hit and run
with the young man driving leaving the scene only to be arrested by police about two weeks later. The same community had complained
to the police department for not enforcing the speed limits on Old
Kensico Speedway. This is a heavily walked roadway with minimal lighting. They were told
unofficially by several officers that the police department were no longer doing
traffic enforcement in various neighborhoods.
A
traffic enforcement expert we spoke to explained that during his
police department career, speed always played a factor in accidents
involving pedestrians. Given the speed we see many drivers operating their
vehicles, including distracted drivers, van, truck and tractor
trailer drivers with limited visibility, it's almost surprising we don't have even more
accidents. But some of this is not the fault of the drivers as
pedestrians dart out from between cars, don't cross at the crosswalk
or traffic lights and others simply ignore it all and just arrogantly
walk into traffic expecting the vehicles to just stop for them since
"pedestrians have the right of way." It's a recipe for
disaster.
So
who is responsible for everyone's safety? Frankly, everyone. Some say
it's the police department, fire department and EMS organizations. We
respectfully disagree. First and foremost, it is up to everyone but
this time it's the Town administrations responsibility. Had they been
governing in a responsible manner for all these years, many of the
roadways might have been adjusted and configured to better handle
traffic. We've watched Mr Feiner urinate away funds to appease the
Hartsdale community into believing he is sincerely looking out for
their well-being. In the meantime, unless there is a grant or efforts
by others to acquire sidewalks, not much is originating from Town
Hall. We have a triple A bond rating and rates are currently as low as ever.
NOW is the time to start taking advantage of that bond rating!
Next,
we believe it is the Police Department responsibility. Under Chief McNerney's short
tenure, he wasn't allowed to hire police officers as Mr Feiner played
Russian Roulette with the Edgemont Incorporation, stating he might
not be able to afford those officers should the incorporation go
through and the tax revenue needed to pay for them suddenly disappear. As
an appointee to the Police Chiefs position, he's beholden to Mr
Feiner for his job. While we understand and disagree with this
approach, you cannot operate based on "what ifs". The first
thing is to hire the cops you need and the second thing is start
enforcing the laws. Those include speeding, commercial traffic going
through residential neighborhoods and jaywalking to mention a few. We
don't believe this falls on the fire or EMS agencies as their role is
reactive by the nature of what they do. But I'm sure they would all
be willing to participate if asked.
One
thing Mr Feiner stated is correct when he said, "I think education
is probably the most important thing." In general, yes. The easy
part is getting to the kids in school as they are in a captive
environment and this information can be distributed and hopefully
shared at home with family members. It's those not in school that
will be the toughest to reach. Plus, since Greenburgh is a sanctuary
Town, many of those in the shadows are not easily reachable and yet
are part of the crowd they need to reach as many regularly walk to and
from their destinations.
By
our count, we're up to 10 pedestrians struck by automobiles within
the Town. We can keep pointing fingers but the fact is there has been
an increased traffic buildup for years without much done to alleviate
it except for politicians to urge using buses, bikes and walking.
Therein is the rub. The same stale (lack of) ideas and
finger-pointing continues to take place. Since the minimal public
reelected Mr Feiner and he helped get us into this dangerous
situation, we're guessing that many find these odds acceptable. We
don't. It needs to change. Once it does, we'll see A Better
Greenburgh.
