SOMERS, N.Y. - A new pedestrian crossing may not sound like big news, but in Somers it’s being celebrated as a giant stride forward in the town’s walkability.
Installed at the Heritage Hills Drive/DeCicco & Sons Supermarket intersection, it was christened with a well-attended ribbon cutting ceremony last week.
The crossing now provides a safe link across Route 202 between the Heritage 202 Center, a shopping mall with a café, pizza place, dentist, and hair salon, and the Towne Centre at Somers, a retail destination that includes everything from a bank, pharmacy, and post office to a bakery, restaurants, and professional offices.
Among the first to give it a go – albeit just minutes before the official unveiling on Thursday, Jan. 30 – was a pod of pre-teens who were heading across Route 202, presumably for a post-school snack.
As great as the new crossing is, the real star of the show that afternoon was the indomitable Thelma Barlow, the founder/leader of a local Boy Scout troop, an inductee in the Women of Distinction Hall of Fame, and a fixture at important community events.
Now in her 90s, she was approached in 1985 by then-Town Supervisor Wayne Van Tassell and asked to fill in for a week or two as a crossing guard up the road at the SIS/SMS campus.
That gig ended up lasting for more than three decades.
“Her kindness, commitment, and unwavering presence made an important impact on generations of families,” current Supervisor Robert Scorrano told the brave souls shivering in the winter chill.
The crowd included Barlow who had absolutely no idea about what was going to happen next.
After the big red ribbon was snipped with a big red pair of scissors, orange plastic coverings were ripped off the crosswalk signs to reveal the words: “Thelma Barlow Crossing.”
“This crosswalk today is dedicated to Thelma and to her family as a tribute to her years of service in the spirit of a small-town community that she represented,” said Scorrano, heralding Somers as a “place where neighbors look out for one another” and Barlow as “a true guardian of our town’s heart.”
(That prompted someone in the crowd to proudly shout: “Hometown USA, everybody! Hometown USA!)Asked by a reporter if she was surprised, a teary-eyed but smiling Barlow said: “Yes, very surprised! What an honor!”
Team Effort
Pointing out that crosswalks and sidewalks make communities “safer and more connected,” Scorrano said the new crosswalk “will help our local businesses bridge the gap between shopping centers, creating more accessible space for everyone.”
(The project also included a new sidewalk on the north side of Route 22, leading to the Heritage 202 Center.)
He credited the team of professionals – the state Department of Transportation (DOT), engineers, the Town Board, town planner, highway personnel, etc. – with playing “a massive role in making this happen.”
(Town police officers were on hand to halt traffic during the ribbon cutting.)
“But this town is more than just roads and crosswalks, it’s the people who dedicated their time to making it better. Few exemplify that more than Thelma Barlow,” Scorrano said.
Recognizing SMS students who had “worked on projects focusing on walkability in our community,” he added that “their ideas and enthusiasm helped shape the town’s vision.”
This proves that “civic engagement starts at a very young age,” Scorrano said, promising that the crosswalk was “just the beginning of our efforts to create a safer, more pedestrian-friendly town.”
Safety First
A dad of five, Highway Superintendent Nick DeVito said that before the new pedestrian signal went in, folks were worried for the children – and adults –who were regularly crossing the road there.
Even though there was a traffic light, it felt like “an accident waiting to happen,” he said.
Fearful that someone was going to get injured one day, the town “took the bull by the horns,” and launched the crosswalk/sidewalk project with the DOT’s support and cooperation, DeVito said.
“This is great,” he said. “It was definitely needed and we’re happy to have it.”
DeVito’s daughter Talia, a 7th grader at SMS, echoed that sentiment.
“Normally what we’d have to do is just kind of stop and wait for a car to stop for us and then sprint as fast as we could across the road,” she said, adding: “Now we don’t have to. It’s better.”
Councilman Anthony Cirieco was thrilled as well.
“So, can you believe this is Somers?” he asked a reporter.
Walkability is vital to a community’s sustainability and growth, he agreed, adding that projects such as the sidewalks and crosswalks are proof that the town is “maturing.”
Councilman Bill Faulkner said of the honoree: “Everybody knows her. Everybody loves her.”
While driving to work or dropping one of his kids off at school, he always noticed Barlow’s demeanor as she stopped traffic and carefully guided students across the busy road.
“If you know Thelma, she takes her job and the kids’ security very, very seriously. She was always focused … and not necessarily smiling,” Faulkner said.
He promised himself that one day he would give Barlow some flowers in the hopes that that would make her smile.
“I’m going to get to make good on that today,” he added, clutching a small bouquet of brightly colored blooms.
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