Mount Kisco asks for lower Main Street speed limit

By MARTIN WILBUR

Village officials have requested the New York State Department of Transportation reduce the speed limit on a portion of Main Street to make the corridor safer for pedestrians, including students walking to and from Mount Kisco Elementary School.

A resolution at May 18’s Village Board meeting originally sought a DOT study to examine the intersection of Main Street and West Hyatt Avenue to determine whether a speed limit reduction is appropriate on the state road. However, once the village’s inquiry into creating a school zone for the elementary school could not be granted, the board amended its request to include lowering the speed limit from 30 to 25 mph from Route 172 to Route 133.

Trustee Heather Bryant, who raised the possibility of creating a school zone in the vicinity of Main Street and West Hyatt Avenue, said school property must touch the road that a municipality would like the school zone to include for the state to grant that request. The elementary school is located at 47 West Hyatt Ave., roughly midway between Main Street and Lexington Avenue. The latter is a county road.

“They did say if you want to petition to lower the speed limit of the road, you can do that by board resolution. So that’s why we went ahead and did that,” Bryant said. “I’ll reach out to the county next to see what we can do, if we can get a school zone on a county level, if the rules are any different. We’ll see what we can do there. If nothing else, we can lower the speed limit on Lexington. At least that’s the hope.”

Before voting to request the state to consider lowering the speed limit on Main Street, Deputy Mayor Karen Schleimer called on the board to conduct a traffic study for all of Mount Kisco, since a change could have a ripple effect.

“We should have a completed traffic plan for the entire village since the traffic is circular and what we do in one area, we should do in both areas,” Schleimer said.

The village completed a Complete Streets Action Plan within the past two years, which enabled Mount Kisco to receive $7 million in federal funding in 2025 for pedestrian and vehicular safety improvements, Village Manager Ed Brancati said.

“I think the action plan is what we continue to follow in its recommendations, but I think one of those is 25 miles (per hour) is what we would like to see the speed limit and the action plan and Complete Streets Study support reducing the speed limit to 25 miles per hour village-wide,” Brancati said.

The board last year approved a 25 mph limit on all village roads.

The DOT lists several requirements in addition to having a portion of the school property on a state road. Some of the students must walk or ride a bicycle to and from school, or if the building is separated by a highway, students have to cross the highway. Also, school administrators and the municipality must each document support for a school zone speed limit in writing.

Also, the DOT decides what the new speed limit would be and the hours it would be in effect. Typically, school zone hours can be on school days from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 7 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m., its website stated. School zones extend a quarter-mile from the school property.

Bryant said it is unclear how long it may take for the DOT to consider the village’s speed limit reduction on Main Street.