MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - Mount Kisco now has a roadmap that will help guide it as it pursues local pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorist safety projects and strategies.
Presented as a "draft action plan" for a Complete Streets Study in May, its final version – once adopted -- will allow the village to go after grants through the federal Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Program.
The program was established under the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act with $5 billion in appropriations with the aim of preventing roadway fatalities and serious injuries. It started in 2022 and ends next year.
The application deadline for this SS4A round is June 26.
Traffic consultants AKRF diligently gathered, compiled, and analyzed data – with the help of the village’s Complete Streets Committee and through public outreach -- that it used to create a comprehensive list of desirable safety upgrades such as curb extenders and flashing lights at pedestrian crossings, better lighting and signalization, sidewalks, signage, and “traffic calming” measures such as speed humps/bumps/tables, one-way streets, neighborhood traffic circles, striping, and narrower travel lanes.
Public education, parking configurations, targeted traffic enforcement, a focus on so-called cut-throughs (West Hyatt, Gregory, Smith Avenues and Moore, Grove and Boltis Streets) and possibly lowering the speed limit on village roads to 25 mph are also part of the bigger picture, according to project manager Elaine Du, who spoke at the Village Board’s Monday, May 19 meeting.
(Mount Kisco can also choose to approach the state and county about reducing speeds on their roads.)
The resulting report also included concepts and rankings based on crash data, the public’s perception of whether a certain spot was safe or not, and each’s “potential” as pilot project.
All intersections in the village were studied.
One of the travel corridors found to have had the highest incidents of pedestrian incidents or vehicular crashes was West Main Street in relationship to Main Street, Kisco Avenue, and Maple Avenue. Lexington Avenue, where its intersects with Columbus Avenue, has also been the subject of concern as has Moore Avenue which links Lexington to Main, opposite the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester.
Other areas of significance addressed in the study were the intersection of Main Street and South Bedford Road (Route 172) in front of Northern Westchester Hospital and the unsignalized pedestrian crosswalk at St. Marks Place and Main Street (Route 117).
Du allowed that it’s likely not be much that can be done about the former because the “curb is already set and it may be hard to get the DOT to approve any new improvements,” Du said.
However, the village could try to persuade the state folks to adjust the traffic signal there in order to give pedestrians more time to cross, she added.
The St. Marks Place crosswalk was intended to be used by folks heading for the village’s Leonard Park but many drive the two blocks instead because they feel it’s simply not safe to cross the busy state road.
“That’s just not a great option,” Du said.
Grant Hopes
According to Du, SS4A grants can be used for supplemental planning, planning and demonstration, and implementation (the actual building of projects). The last on the list, because it’s more costly, is also the more competitive in terms of awards.
She noted that the village can also seek funding for smaller transportation safety projects through federal and state initiatives such as the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) program, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), and the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program (RCP).
The SS4A piggy bank in the 2025 round has $1 billion, approximately 30 percent of which is dedicated to the supplemental planning and planning and demonstration categories.
“That’s going to be less competitive because, typically speaking, municipalities only apply for a couple hundred thousand dollars to maybe, at the most, $1 million or $2 million,” Du explained, adding that SS4A can fund “hundreds of projects with $300 million.”
Implementation grants are a different kettle of fish.
The remaining $700 million that’s up for grabs sounds like a lot, but it’s not when you consider that there are some communities that have applied “for $50 million at once,” Du said.
Last year, New York state snagged a total of $40 million for two projects. In Pennsylvania there were seven or eight awardees, which amounted to “much, much more money,” she noted, adding that “it really varies.”
Chances of being picked could also depend at what point a municipality is in its safety action plan’s “timeline,” Du said.
The high level of competition is the key reason behind AKRF’s recommendation that the village spread its financing aspirations around.
“So, we’ll hopeful -- even though it is competitive -- that if you don’t put all your eggs in one basket you should be okay,” she advised village officials.
And speaking of timelines.
Awards will be announced in late November or early December. It should take about six months to get a formal agreement signed between the village and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and also to get added to government’s Transportation Improvement Project’s (TIP) list.
Once Mount Kisco has its hands on the money, it can start its design phase. That could take anywhere from eight months to a year to complete.
The length of the construction part depends on the complexity of the project itself.
The road from application to completed project could be up to two years’ long, Du said.
Deputy Mayor Theresa Flora noted that “in a perfect world” the village would have finished the study, gotten the money right away, and started fixing its problematic intersections immediately.
However, realistically, it “take a very long time to get things done,” Flora said, adding that she just wanted residents “to understand that.”
Both Mayor J. Michael Cindrich and Trustee Tom Luzio thanked the Complete Streets Committee folks and the village’s consultants for all their hard work.
Referring to the grants process, which is critical to the safety projects’ success, Luzio said: “I don’t know if we’re going to get one dollar or $2 million or somewhere in between, but I know that without the work you put in, there would be zero dollars.”
What is “Complete Streets?”
According to the village's website, the Complete Streets Act was signed into law in 2011. It requires state, county and local agencies to consider the convenience and mobility of all users when developing transportation projects that receive state and federal funding.
The state DOT is working to ensure that its policies and procedures meet the new standards. "The initiative presents an opportunity to expand upon existing programs and collaborate with bicyclists, pedestrians, people with disabilities and others to identify best practices and designs for transportation facilities," it said.
A "Complete Street" is a roadway planned and designed "to consider the safe, convenient access and mobility of all roadway users of all ages and abilities." This covers pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation riders, and motorists, including children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
Roadway designs features include sidewalks, lane striping, bicycle lanes, paved shoulders suitable for use by bicyclists, signage, crosswalks, pedestrian control signals, bus pull-outs, curb cuts, raised crosswalks, ramps and traffic calming measures.
The benefits?
According to the law, Complete Streets will contribute to a "cleaner, greener transportation system" and "more citizens will achieve the health benefits associated with active forms of transportation while traffic congestion and auto related air pollution will be reduced."
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