Residents Call for Sidewalks Around Seely Place School

Although Edgemont has the dintinction of being one of the top school districts in the country, it also faces some trials and tribulations. Edgemont is small and homes are typically within a couple of miles of school, so most kids are not offered bus service. Therefore, parents either drive kids to and from school or they walk or bike. These modes of transportation all have their issues in Edgemont. Transportation at Seely Place is more problematic than at the Greenville School, so this pieces focuses on Seely Place.

Some parents who drive to school are unhappy because parking is extremely limited, circling around the school for pick up is nearly impossible, and the church behind Seely Place charges $200 per year per car to park in their lot for the ten minutes it takes pick up the kids. Parents have to get to school exceedingly early to avoid this. "Parking at Seely for pick up is stressful," said a Seely mom. "You have to get there at least 45 min early in order to even get a spot and for kindergarten parents this is necessary as we have to pick up the kids in the classrooms." Street parking is extremely limited and is enforced regularly by the police. "So any of the surrounding streets are off limits," she said. "Makes for a pretty annoying situation every single school day."

"This year there is much more congestion because of the charge at the church," said a Cotswold mom of two. "The church totally deserves the payment because the cost of snow removal and resurfacing is significant, plus they are dealing with the inconvenience of more cars in their parking lot that have NOTHING to do with their business. For me, the issue is that I would have to pay to register and get stickers for multiple cars. I have different people picking up the kids so I would have to shell out $400 to register all the cars that pick up my kids!" Another mom said, "Parking at the church was extremely convenient and free up until last year when they started charging $200 for the year which I think is way too high for a spot most of use for only about 15 minutes a day. They say the money is going to go towards road shoveling and repaving, but we will see. The pathway between the church and school is not maintained in the winter, so you just have to strap on your boots and hope for the best!"

Other parents are upset with the Seely Place situation because they recognize the difficulties with driving and wish to walk to school, but their ability to walk safely with their children is hampered by the lack of sidewalks in the area. One mom told me that she knows a lot of people who would walk to school if it was safer. "I know I would," she said. "Perhaps building adequate sidewalks would be enough of a fix for the lack of parking lots." She went on to describe the dangers of walking to Seely Place Elementary. "I cannot believe that it is not already a law that there be sidewalks to an elementary school," she exclaimed. "The road is VERY narrow and when it snows, the road gets progressively more narrow making it extremely dangerous for walkers."

The sidewalk battle has been going on for decades. In fact, it dates back to the 1970s. However, the community has recently come together again to demand sidewalks and the voices in favor of sidewalks seem stronger than ever. "The new Police Chief has been working through the proper channels to accomplish some change and we in Edgemont are very hopeful that the change will come soon and before any type of accident occurs," said the Cotswold mom. Seely Place residents have tended to be opposed to sidewalks because they will encroach on their space.

I asked Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner to weigh in on the issue. He is fervently in favor of building sidewalks around Seely Place and Greenville. "The town of Greenburgh is working hard to make our town more pedestrian friendly," he said. "This year 1.6 miles of new sidewalks have or will shortly be built around town. I have met with the leadership of the Cotswold and Edgemont civic associations and told them that I would recommend that funding for sidewalks be included in the 2016 capital budget. I believe that the sidewalk could be built in 2016 or in the spring of 2017, depending on when the capital budget is approved." Several community meetings are in the works. Feiner has been in touch with congressmen to secure additional funding through the Federal Department of Transportation's TIGER program. Just this week, he received notice that the funds will be made available to help local governments build sidewalks near schools. The town will apply for grants that will hopefully be awarded as a supplement to the capital budget. "As a next step," he added, "the town board will hopefully approve an engineering study to work out the details of the sidewalk plan."

I asked Feiner about the parking related issues at Seely and he said he hasn't received many complaints about parking. Most of the parents to whom I mentioned this seemed very surprised, although they had not contacted Mr. Feiner themselves. I asked Feiner if the town would ever consider paying the church so Seely Place parents could use its parking lot. "I don't think the town would pay the church for parking. All the complaints I have received from residents pertain to the safety of children walking to school. That's why I am supportive of the effort to construct sidewalks. The cost will be expensive: almost $300,000 but I think it's worth it."

This will cover the cost of a sidewalk from Ardsley Road to the entrance of the school. The cost including a sidewalk from Central Ave to Seely Place will add another $200,000.00 (See attached survey).

The Costwold and Edgemont Associations sent out the following message late last week about the next meeting. All are welcome to attend.

A community meeting will be held Monday, November 9 at 7:00 in the Seely Place School Library. The topic is the sidewalk the town is proposing on the west side of Seely Place from Ardsley Road to the entrance of the school. The sidewalk would be constructed on the town's right-of-way. Attending the meeting will be Supervisor Paul Feiner, Chief of Police Chris McNerney and Commissioner of Public Works Victor Carosi. Reflecting our long-standing support of sidewalks, the Edgemont and Cotswold Associations are sponsoring the meeting.

The Old Edgemont and Cotswold neighborhoods were developed without a comprehensive plan for sidewalks. As a result, there is great concern for the safety of children and their families as they walk to and from school without sidewalks.

Feiner, McNerney and Carosi, have pledged to add sidewalks to areas around schools throughout the town. Several possible areas for sidewalks in Edgemont were identified. The town asked for proposals from engineering firms and selected The RBA Group. RBA monitored pedestrian and vehicular traffic at the end of the last school year, conducted a survey among residents, and recommended several sidewalks be constructed. The town has chosen Seely Place as the first site for a new sidewalk.

See a sidewalk feasibility study here:

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