Thursday Night Village Board Workshop To Review
Transportation Alternatives Program Broadway Redesign
by Dave Zornow
In 2015, Nyack received a $1.5 million grant from New York’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) to improve Broadway through pedestrian, transit and bicycle improvements. Although the village has a reputation as a walk-able place, in reality there are a lot of impediments to getting around including narrow sidewalks, utility poles, mailboxes and misaligned crosswalks.
Over the past 10 months a committee of residents, the TAP Steering Committee, has provided feedback to a new design created by a local engineering firm which will make it easier to get around Nyack’s downtown North/South corridor without a car. McLaren Engineering Group will present their plan to revise the sidewalks, crosswalks, curbs, benches and landscape on South Broadway, South Franklin and North Broadway to the Village Board on Thursday, Sept 22 at 6:30p at Nyack Village Hall.
McLaren’s design has incorporated the needs of residents and businesses, pedestrians and cyclists…and of course…parking. The project’s goals include a “softening of the streetscape to be more aesthetically pleasing with uniform features, providing sustainable features as applicable, and where possible improve rainwater runoff treatment.”
The TAP “New Connectivities for Nyack” Design
Here are some highlights of the plan that will be discussed on Thursday night:
- “Straightening out” and relocating cross walks: Pedestrian safety can be improved by shortening the distance that pedestrians have to cross and, where appropriate, adding “bump-outs” to make pedestrians more visible to drivers as they try to cross the street.
- Adding landscaping with structural soil along South Broadway. In addition to beautifying the streetscape, this special soil and gravel mix is used in tree pits and under and and around sidewalks to let tree roots grow without disrupting sidewalks. Tree pits also help the health of the river, by capturing and filtering runoff water through the soil and reducing the impact of tainted rainwater which collects street residue spilling into the Hudson.
- Adding a bike lane on South Franklin that will connect Nyack’s downtown to the future Tappan Zee Bridge Shared Use Path via the South Nyack Esposito Rail Trail.
The public is invited to attend the 6:30p Sept 22 VB Workshop meeting at at Nyack Village Hall, located at 9 N Broadway.
Dave Zornow is a member of the Village of Nyack TAP Steering committee.