Drivers on the Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck may be slowing down in the coming months, at least during school hours.
The Town of Mamaroneck Board unanimously endorsed the Safe Routes to School Legislation sponsored by New York State Assemblyman George Latimer (D) that would allow the municipality to set the speed limit—currently 35 MPH—on the state-owned stretch of Post Road between and (MHS).
Although it is unknown at this time what if any changes will be made to the speed limit—the legislation would simply grant the town the authority to do so—any potential modifications will only be effective on school days between the hours of 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
The corridor from Weaver Street to the on 740 W. Boston Post Rd.—a stretch of Post Road that students traverse regularly—was identified as an area potentially treacherous to pedestrians at the beginning of 2008, said Kim Larsen, a member of the local chapter of the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Committee, at the meeting.
SRTS is a national program that encourages children to walk or bike to school to improve their health while ensuring that these trips are as safe as possible.
Despite the findings of two consultants and the Westchester Department of Transportation, the New York State Board of Transportation deemed current safety measures including a crossing guard and crosswalk signal at MHS, to be sufficient, and determined nothing further needed to be done.
But not everyone was convinced.
“I think our community believes that [Boston Post Road] is a four-lane state highway with a high school with an open campus and a middle school nearby,” said Larsen.
The legislation was made possible on the local level due to the efforts of both Latimer (D) and New York State Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer (D). Latimer recently sponsored Bill A08653 that would allow both the Town and Village of Mamaroneck to designate a portion of West Boston Post Road as a school zone—the bill is still awaiting approval from the state before it becomes effective. Sen. Oppenheimer helped secure a $5,000 grant to help fund initiatives connected with SRTS.
Currently, only cities like Rye and New Rochelle are permitted to make changes to state-owned roads without specific legislation overriding this authority, said board member Abby Katz.
Additional information on the resolution can be found on the town's website here.
Editor's Note: The town voted to endorse the legislation sponsored by George Latimer at the board meeting but will not be authorized to change the speed limit until the legislation is approved by the state. A previous version has been corrected to reflect this change.
