Families and officials press Mamaroneck trustees for rapid pedestrian-safety fixes after fatal crash

Dozens of parents and residents asked the Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees on July 10 to move quickly on pedestrian-safety measures around Mamaroneck Avenue after a recent fatal crash.

"We overall have 2 goals: 1 is a comprehensive set of near-term safety measures to be implemented by September 3," Danielle Robles, a parent with two daughters at Mamaroneck Avenue School, told the board, urging a short-term checklist that could be finished before students return to class. Robles also called for a longer second phase to reengineer Mamaroneck Avenue into a neighborhood street rather than a highway.

Trustee Leilani Eiser Reed read a package of near-term and village-led requests from the traffic committee that the board plans to press the county and state to implement. The list includes an exclusive pedestrian phase at New Street and Mamaroneck Avenue with no right turn on red; painted curb extensions and refreshed crosswalks at multiple intersections; school-zone markings and speed-feedback signs near MAS; trimming sightline-obstructing trees; and community events to repaint or beautify curb extensions. The committee also recommended installing rectangular rapid-flashing beacons on unsignalized side-street crossings.

State Senator Shelley Mayer, who attended the meeting with state representative Steve Otis, told the public she and her office will work with county and state DOT staff to move short-term changes along. "We have already spoken twice to the county," Mayer said, adding that DOT and county staff were receptive and that traffic counts and analyses were already under way.

Speakers pressed for quick, concrete steps. "If you only have 57 days until school begins, we need both a near-term list and a longer-term plan," Melanie Fernandez said, asking the board to convert community recommendations into an actionable timeline. Several speakers also urged increasing crossing-guard coverage and targeted police presence at drop-off and pick-up times.

The board approved a purchase of three pairs of flashing pedestrian signals — at the I-95 exit ramp, Elliot/Mamaroneck and North Barry/Jefferson — at an estimated cost of about $22,056, a move Mayor Torres described as part of a multi-tiered response of near-, mid- and long-term measures.

The board and staff said they would continue coordinating with the county and the state DOT, and that some village-level repainting and vegetation work could be completed before school starts. Trustees also asked staff to provide a clear timeline of what the village can accomplish internally and what requires county or state action.

The meeting closed with a pledge from officials to keep parents informed and to prioritize short-term interventions while planning longer engineering changes to reduce speeds and reconfigure the corridor.