Town Board hears about ways to calm dangerous traffic on Ridgefield Avenue

By NEAL RENIZ

A study of potential ways to reduce dangerous traffic on Ridgefield Avenue were discussed at the Dec. 15 Lewisboro Town Board meeting as several residents demanded action after more than six years of lobbying town officials to make the road safer.

Elaine Du, a senior technical director and traffic engineer for the consulting firm AKRF, discussed her report on potential initiatives to deal with the traffic issues.

The study looked at Ridgefield Avenue between Route 35 and Dingee Road. The two-way road connects Route 124 and Route 35. The town speed limit for the road is 25 mph. 

About 1,000 vehicles travel Ridgefield Avenue daily, according to traffic data collected by the town last spring.

“Based on origin-destination data from Replica, a location-based services transportation data provider, over 80% of vehicles (800 vehicles per day) on Ridgefield Avenue are Connecticut residents, which indicates that the residential roadway is primarily being used as a cut-through roadway for nonresidents,” the study stated. 

The spring 2025 traffic data collected by the town also showed that the average and 85th percentile speeds along Ridgefield Avenue were 32 mph and 37 mph, respectively, the study found.

AKRF conducted a walking tour with residents on Ridgefield Avenue in September. 

“The vast majority of vehicles traveling along the corridor had Connecticut license plates. Some vehicles were observed to speed along the corridor, despite the presence of the walking tour pedestrians in high-visibility vests,” according to the study. “Some vehicles were observed to pass closely to pedestrians and create an unsafe condition for the pedestrians in the road.”

Du laid out her study’s “improvement concepts” at the meeting. 

Traffic management strategies include the use of technology, signage, and enforcement to discourage the use of Ridgefield Avenue as a cut-through route, Du said. 

Du said the town could consider using the Waze for Cities program, which allows municipalities to update and report roadway changes and closures, which informs the Waze and Google Maps apps. Du said Waze for Cities could be used to update the peak hour turn restrictions onto Ridgefield Avenue and, if needed, to remove Ridgefield Avenue from maps on apps during peak hours. The Town Board came to a consensus to seek additional information about Waze.

Another suggestion from Du’s study is to reclassify the Ridgefield Avenue corridor in Waze as a residential street. 

Du said the town could place enhanced signage at Route 124 and Route 35. To reinforce the turn restrictions onto Ridgefield Avenue, “No Thru Traffic” signs could be added at the Route 124 and Route 35 intersections, as well as adding the signs to Waze., she said.

Lewisboro would need to coordinate with Pound Ridge to install signs at the Route 124 intersection, the report stated.

Another possibility Du said was targeted enforcement to reduce the use of Ridgefield Avenue as a cut-through. Lewisboro would need to work with the Pound Ridge Police Department, Du said. 

Another option is speed cameras for automated enforcement of speeding with fines for offenders. Du said speed cameras are allowed in New York City, but other municipalities would need approval from the state Legislature and the governor.

Other ideas regarding Ridgefield Avenue proposed by Du include a raised intersection of 3 inches at Ridgefield Avenue and Cross Pond Road to slow traffic; installation of speed humps corridor-wide; converting Ridgefield Avenue as a one-way road toward Cross Pond Road; or the one-way conversion of Ridgefield Avenue away from Cross Pond Road.  

Prior to the presentation, state Assemblymember Chris Burdick discussed how speed humps were approved when he was the Bedford town supervisor. He was invited to the meeting by Supervisor Tony Gonçalves and Councilman Richard Sklarin. 

“Chris has some experience with this,” Gonçalves said. 

Burdick said that when he was supervisor, Bedford installed speed humps to reduce vehicle speed in some areas of town, including Cherry Street in Katonah; the Village Green, which runs between Routes 117 and 22 in Bedford Village; and Seminary Road in Bedford Village.

“These were used as cut-throughs,” Burdick said. 

Burdick said he worked with his public works commissioner to produce a list of pros and cons of installing speed humps. 

Sklarin asked Du for her recommendation for Ridgefield Avenue. 

“I am not stating a preference for any of these alternatives,” Du said. “I’m merely presenting the facts to the residents and the board.” 

Several people said at the meeting that action must be taken to deal with traffic and safety issues on Ridgefield Avenue.

Peter Hallerman, who lives on Fay Lane, which is off Ridgefield Avenue, said in his 29 years of living on the street, “We’ve seen significant increases in traffic and significant decreases in public safety.”

Six-and-one-half years ago residents in his area began petitioning the Town Board for help, Hallerman said. 

“I think we need to stay focused on what this is all about, which is providing safety and security for the residents of Ridgefield Avenue,” he said. “And we want a solution.”

Hallerman said he was open to a complicated solution or a simple solution such as installing speed humps on Ridgefield Avenue or enhanced police enforcement.

“Nothing slows people down like seeing cops giving tickets,” he said.

Doris Forsberg said she has lived in South Salem for about 56 years, “and things have gotten really bad over the years on Ridgefield Avenue.”

“I’ve watched dogs get killed on Ridgefield Avenue over the years,” Forsberg said. “I’m very, very nervous about watching kids get off school buses. I’ve watched Connecticut cars trying to pass the school buses on Ridgefield Avenue. It’s really a disaster.”