Parents see 'broken promise' in county's possible shift on Mamaroneck minibus crash site

MAMARONECK ‒ Last week, they thought they had a deal to change forever the intersection where a mother and her son were struck and killed by a minibus in June, to make it safer. This week, they're not sure. And they're not happy.

Village parents believed things couldn't get any safer than the new traffic pattern that was coming to the intersection where Molly Donovan and Mikey Donovan Volpe died. Traffic would stop in all directions to give parents and students time to cross busy Mamaroneck Avenue without competing with vehicles. It's called an "exclusive pedestrian phase."

They wanted more intersections to get that kind of treatment, but they figured one was a start and the one would be at Mamaroneck Avenue and New Street, where the crash took two lives. Now, they fear they might be back to zero, unless the village can make the case to Westchester County, a case parents and at least two trustees believed had already been made.

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Since an Aug. 12 board of trustees meeting where changes were announced, members of a pedestrian-safety group began to hear things. They learned that an engineer at Westchester County, which owns Mamaroneck Avenue, had recommended, instead, a pattern called "leading pedestrian interval," a sort of seven-second head start for pedestrians before vehicles can begin turning into an intersection.

Melanie Fernandez of Safe Streets Mamaroneck said she and her fellow parents were shocked to learn that the deal they were counting on might be in jeopardy.

"We were blindsided to learn from (Deputy County Executive) Ken Jenkins that LPI was happening instead of the EPP requested (by us), recommended (by Elaine Du, village traffic consultant), and agreed upon (by the county via George Latimer)," Fernandez said. "Indeed, we pressed for follow-up last week because we keep hearing to trust the county and how much they have already done in record time, and here is what we discover with 15 days to go (before school starts)."

'A promise broken and bad policy'

With school about to start, few will forget what happened on June 20, when school was about to finish.

Donovan and her son, Mikey, were heading to Mamaroneck Avenue School when they were struck and killed by a Royal Coach Lines minibus driven by a 68-year-old Mount Vernon man. The driver was turning left from New Street onto Mamaroneck Avenue when he struck the two, who were reportedly in the crosswalk at the time. They didn't make it to Mamaroneck Avenue School. Mikey, 6, died instantly; Molly died within hours, days shy of her 44th birthday.

No charges have been filed against the driver, as the Westchester County Accident Reconstruction Team develops its report, expected this week.

Village and county officials have met much of the summer, hoping to make streets near the school safer for pedestrians. On Aug. 12, Interim Village Manager Chuck Strome unveiled a three-tiered proposal : Some changes would be in place before school starts, others soon after school starts and the rest would take more time.

Speakers at the meeting, including Danielle Robles and Fernandez of Safe Streets Mamaroneck ‒ and Fernandez's 10-year-old daughter, Alessandra Castellano ‒ praised Strome for the speed and transparency with which he partnered with the county to come up with the action plan.

News of the county's possible about-face at New Street has changed their tune. Robles considers it "a promise broken and bad policy."

"The county is going along with some actions but is worried more about the impact of the changes on traffic than the utility to pedestrians," Robles said. "I feel them trying to be responsive to the community but I don’t feel their alignment to acting comprehensively in the short- , mid- and long-term to make Mamaroneck Avenue safe for the school children who cross it every day."

'Push the county'

On Monday, Angelique Shingler, a former candidate for school board and current member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, wrote to Strome, Mayor Sharon Torres and the trustees, and Police Chief Sandra DiRuzza. Shingler noted that the county has recommended an LPI pattern at New Street, Gertrude and Nostrand, with no exclusive pedestrian phase at New Street.

"We ask the Mayor and BOT please continue to push the county for the recommended asks," Shingler wrote. "This change at New Street was the only EPP update that was on the approved short term list to be implemented before the first day of school."

Strome responded that he had reached out to Joan McDonald, the county's operations manager, late last week, asking the county "to reconsider their original recommendation on the traffic lights." McDonald oversees all county departments, its budget and employees. Mamaroneck Avenue is a county road, and the oversight of its traffic signals falls under county jurisdiction.

Strome said the EPP at New Street will be discussed in meetings between the village and county this week. A county spokesperson said details were still being worked out, with a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

Not a guarantee

Strome praised the cooperation he'd gotten from the county, their frequent emails and an update they'd sent in advance of last Monday's meeting. He and McDonald co-signed an Aug. 1 letter to Latimer and Torres, detailing the action items in the near, middle and long terms.

Among those in the near term: “Study and the retiming of traffic signals on Mamaroneck Avenue with exclusive pedestrian phasing at New Street. The county will complete the signal timing evaluation by Aug. 9 and implement the recommended changes by Sept. 3.”

Strome said putting the exclusive pedestrian phase in place would require a traffic engineering study.

"While we were hopeful that an all-pedestrian phase at New Street would result from the study, I do not believe anyone ever said it was a guarantee," Strome added. Asked why the head-start LPI option was not in the letter he co-authored with McDonald, he said: "The LPI was not mentioned in the Aug. 1 letter because the study was not done and was to be done."

Village Trustee Lou Young said he had the impression at the Aug. 12 meeting that "New Street was the only EPP intersection, so this county pushback is new."

Strome didn't see it that way.

"I don’t think this is pushback from the county," he said. "They are considering the recommendations of their traffic engineer and the fact that they have agreed to discuss it further with us is actually a confirmation of that cooperation."

More EPP intersections, trustee says

Young went on to say he feels the pedestrian-friendly EPP "should exist on all intersections along that stretch of Mamaroneck Avenue, to be activated by pedestrians as they seek to cross. Doing it at the New Street intersection is probably the least we should do, so I am surprised that this other option is being suggested at that location.

"I understand it will slow down traffic on Mamaroneck Avenue during heavy pedestrian times but that is a mere inconvenience in the face of what has proven to be a dangerous traffic configuration," Young said.

Larchmont, Young said, has four EPP intersections, on Palmer Avenue and Boston Post Road, but has no access to the northbound New England Thruway. Instead, drivers who want to access the northbound Thruway head down Mamaroneck Avenue.

The trustee, who spoke out for a village-wide 25 mph speed limit, said cars should be discouraged from using Mamaroneck Avenue to access the Thruway. He'd prefer a new Thruway north ramp in the Larchmont area to give those cars somewhere else to go.

"The perfect spot is on Harmon Drive just off Weaver Street," he said. "We should not be funneling their Thruway-bound traffic past Mamaroneck Elementary School in our village, period."

Peter D. Kramer is a 36-year staffer who writes long-form narratives on a variety of topics. He has written recently about an Orange County cold-case murder, about affordability and development, and breaking news. His story looking back on the Oak Street fire in Yonkers won a national Headliner Award for outstanding news specials/feature column. Reach him at pkramer@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Parents see 'broken promise' in county's possible shift on Mamaroneck minibus crash site