MAMARONECK — Westchester County and the town on Tuesday approved a new traffic light pattern at the busy intersection where a mother and her 6-year-old son were struck and killed in June.
The pattern, called the “pedestrian-only phase,” will stop traffic in all directions, with pedestrians only having access to the crosswalks and the intersection. Pedestrians will no longer have to compete with vehicles on Mamaroneck Avenue and New Street near Mamaroneck Avenue School. That’s where Molly Murphey Donovan and her son Mikey were killed on June 20 when they reportedly crossed the busy street in the crosswalk on their way to school.
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The deal ends a conflict that made some parents nervous.
They believed the plan had been finalized at an Aug. 12 Board of Supervisors meeting, when interim Village Manager Chuck Strome unveiled a series of pedestrian safety measures, including the addition of four crossing guards. Then came word that a county engineer had proposed a different traffic light scenario on the county-owned Mamaroneck Avenue that would give pedestrians a seven-second head start before cars could enter the intersection.
Strome said Monday that the exclusive pedestrian phase was not guaranteed, prompting some parents to criticize the measure as a “broken promise.”
The new traffic pattern was restored on Tuesday. Catherine Cioffi, the county’s communications director, made the announcement in an email to USA Today Network New York.
“The county, the village and their traffic consultants met this morning and decided that we are going to create an exclusively pedestrian area at the traffic light at the intersection of Mamaroneck Ave and New Street,” she wrote.
Tuesday’s decision was cheered by the Safe Streets Mamaroneck advocacy group, which had applied for the exclusive phase-in at eight intersections but received only one, at the site of the fatal crash. The intersection will also get a traffic control officer, something it did not have the day Donovan and her son were killed.
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Melanie Fernandez of Safe Streets Mamaroneck said, “We are relieved to hear that the county and town have stayed true to their word. They have taken action based on research findings and (their) expert recommendations to prioritize pedestrian safety with exclusive pedestrian phasing plus a crossing guard on New Street. We await feedback on the remaining intersections our children will be crossing in 14 days.”
Peter D. Kramer is a 36-year-old contributor who writes long-form stories on a variety of topics. He has recently written about a cold case murder in Orange County, affordability and development, and breaking news. His story on the Oak Street fire in Yonkers won a national Headliner Award for outstanding news special/feature column. Reach him at pkramer@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester approves all-vehicle stop at scene of deadly Mamaroneck crash
