Village of Pelham awarded $350,000 from state for safety improvements at Wolfs Lane-Sparks Avenue intersection

Village+of+Pelham+awarded+%24350%2C000+from+state+for+safety+improvements+at+Wolfs+Lane-Sparks+Avenue+intersection

Editor’s note: This announcement to residents was provided by Village of Pelham Mayor Chance Mullen.

I’m writing to share some great news. We’ve just received confirmation that Senator Alessandra Biaggi and Assemblymember Amy Paulin are partnering to award the village a grant of $350,000 for traffic and pedestrian safety improvements at the intersection of Wolfs Lane and Sparks Avenue.  This intersection was identified by our Planning Board as an area that could benefit from additional traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures, given the existing traffic flow and new developments that will be added to the area in the coming years. It has also been a source of concern for residents in the area for quite some time.

Ensuring that our streets are safe and accessible is a top priority for the Village Board. Finding room in the budget to fund significant improvements is often the most challenging obstacle and one we’ve been working to overcome. In addition to seeking grant funding, we passed a “Fair Share” law over the summer, requiring developers to make contributions to projects like these, and funds from that program will help finance a portion of the improvements at Wolfs/Sparks as well as many other improvements throughout our downtown core.

In the coming months, we will be working with our traffic consultants to develop a full design for the intersection and generate a broader set of recommendations to improve all Village roads and sidewalks. We will be supplementing this professional guidance with input from the Village’s Pedestrian Safety and Traffic Calming Committee (PSTCC), a group we formed in October that includes 4 resident volunteers and is led by Trustee Spira-Cohen.

If you’re interested, pedestrian safety and traffic calming issues will be a topic for discussion at tonight’s board meeting. The PSTCC will be sharing the results of a community-wide survey conducted in December regarding school “commute” patterns, and we will also be reviewing preliminary recommendations for Lincoln Avenue, developed by the PSTCC with input from each of our department heads, members of our Planning Board and Sustainability Advisory Board, and officials from the Westchester County Department of Public Works and Transportation. Over the summer, County Legislator Terry Clements secured $2.4 million in the County budget for physical improvements along the Lincoln Avenue corridor and this work by the PSTCC will help us ensure the best use of that funding.

There is still much work to be done and I will keep you updated as we move forward. In the meantime, please join me in thanking Amy Paulin and Alessandra Biaggi for their enduring support of our community.