County’s $1.35M award to help finish downtown streetscape

A portion of South Moger Avenue looking southward from Kirby Plaza that will be the site of the final portion of Mount Kisco’s Sidewalk Streetscape Improvement program in the downtown. MARTIN WILBUR PHOTO

By MARTIN WILBUR

County and Mount Kisco officials announced a $1.35 million award to the village to help pay for the last leg of its downtown streetscape improvement program, the first Westchester municipality to receive money under a new program. 

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins visited the village on Tuesday to outline how half of the expenses for the final phase of Mount Kisco’s work will be paid for through the county’s Complete Streets Municipal Assistance Program. The project is designed to make walking, riding and driving safer and more accessible for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Work is scheduled for South Moger Avenue from Kirby Plaza to Green Street and likely to be finished sometime next year.

The investment will include reconstructed sidewalks, better pedestrian crossings, the installation of traffic calming measures, landscaping and other improvements to encourage residents and visitors to visit downtown and walk, shop and gather for a more enjoyable experience while reducing the fear of speeding cars, Jenkins said. 

“They’re about making it safer for children walking to school, seniors getting around their communities and families enjoying everything municipalities have to offer,” he said. “None of this happens without key partnerships and the leaders and leadership of outstanding public servants.” 

It is the first of 12 construction awards totaling more than $15 million that are being provided to municipalities throughout Westchester. There were 27 applications from 21 communities that sought a portion of the funds. Mount Kisco is required to match the $1,355,275 that the county is providing, said county Planning Commissioner Blanca Lopez. 

The work in Mount Kisco is tentatively scheduled to begin this fall, although other variables such as the village awaiting word on its Transportation Alternatives Program application that is funded through the state Department of Transportation, could push off start of the work until early next year, Village Manager Ed Brancati said. The TAP funding, if obtained, would amount to about another 25% toward the cost of the project, he said.

Protecting the public from traffic and making downtown more inviting has been a longtime concern for village officials, Mayor J. Michael Cindrich said. By 2024, the village acted to address the problem by forming the volunteer Complete Streets Committee and retaining the traffic and engineering consultant firm AKRF to help the Village Board identify areas of concern and decide on a path forward, he said.

The county money will help ease the financial challenges of having to pay for the entire final portion of the streetscape project, referred to by the village as Phase 3B.

“It’s something very special for the village that the county is our partner, making it a better community, a more viable community, a more walkable community, and I think it’s because the county, as I do, recognized the services we provide to the village and to the regional area, and with the hospital, and our moniker now is a health and wellness community,” Cindrich said. “So it’s not only for the residents and the business areas, but it’s also for the people that may make an occasional visit to the village of Mount Kisco.”

Craig Lader, director of transportation and planning for the county’s Planning Department, said the Complete Streets concept of improving downtown safety for pedestrians and vehicles is now a widely accepting planning principle.

He outlined the work scheduled to be done: upgraded curb ramps that comply with public rights of way accessibility; two new crosswalks at Green Street, including curb extensions, to make crosswalks narrower for pedestrians and curb ramps; the relocation of catch basins where the new curb ramps are installed; upgraded concrete sidewalks; a center median on South Moger featuring landscaping, benches and lighting; and other traffic calming measures that reduce the width of vehicle lanes to 12 feet to combat speeding.

“That is critical to making a much safer and walkable environment because the slower the traffic goes, the less likely people are to be seriously injured if an incident were to occur,” Lader said of the traffic calming strategies to reduce vehicular speed.

Mount Kisco was the first community selected by the county to receive its funding because it already had in place key components of a Complete Streets plan, Lopez said. It had established a Complete Streets Committee, developed a safety action plan, completed the design for the project and pursued additional funding from other sources, she said. 

Partnerships between many municipalities and county officials have been strong since the county embarked on its Complete Streets initiative.

“Today’s awards are a direct result of that collaboration and local commitment,” Lopez said. “These projects are investments not only in local infrastructure but in safety, mobility and the long-term quality of life in our community.”

Brancati said the first two phases of its Sidewalk Streetscape Improvement program have been completed. Those phases included Main Street and the area around the Shoppers Park Parking lot. Phase 3A, which is in the midst of being completed, takes in Kirby Plaza and the area around the train station as well as the small portion of South Moger Avenue between Kirby Plaza and Main Street.