Traffic Signal For Franklin Avenue

[George Curtis]

Several years ago a man was killed at the corner of Franklin Avenue
and Westchester Avenue. It is a very dangerous intersection with cars
zooming down from Mitchell Place and up Westchester Avenue to merge at
about Franklin Avenue.

At one our meeting about two years ago someone from the City of White
Plains said they were going to install a traffic light at the corner
of Franklin Avenue and Westchester Avenue. About a year ago the
traffic department dug a hole at the corner in Tibbets Park and
covered it with a steel cover with the inscription TRAFFIC SIGNAL.
Please see attached photos. A traffic signal would make it safer for
people to cross, even thought they are not suppose to do it now. The
second thing it would slow drivers zooming up towards North Broadway
towards Main Street. The third thing it would do is to stop all the
accidents from cars merging from the two roads into Westchester
Avenue.

If they would complete the project of installing a traffic signal it
would make this section of White Plains much safer.

George Curtis

[Rob Tamboia]

I agree! And many children who live around Mitchell Place and Martine
Avenue must walk to Eastview School, the must cross Westchester Avenue
at the Crosswalk by PF Changs/ Paulding Street or at Reka's
Restaurant/ Main St. The hill and curve make it very difficult to see
cars coming up Westchester Avenue, and I think a "smart" traffic
signal would work well (staying green on Westchester a long time,
unless a pedestrian button or a car "tripper" on Franklin Avenue
"calls" trips the signal to turn red on Westchester Avenue).

Why do we have traffic signals at E. Post Road and Court Street (Court
Street is one-way and doesnt bring any traffic into the intersection
(such as Mamaroneck and Mitchell Place)?

Another example would be N. Lexington Avenue and Water Street where
there's lights on Water Street that may not really be that important
if drivers could just be patient and YIELD to pedestrians and other
cars already in the right-of-way.

QUESTION FOR GROUP:
WHERE WOULD YOU INSTALL THE NEXT THREE TRAFFIC LIGHTS IN WHITE PLAINS?
(AND WHY?)

Here's my suggestions:

1. The corner of Westchester Avenue and Franklin (maybe combining it
with the traffic coming off Armory Place approching the Franklin/
Westchester Ave. intersection). Hard to see and dangerous for the
young, the elderly and all pedestrians, and not much fun for drivers
either.

2. The S. Kensico Driveway from the Stop& Shop parking lot. While
the garage has a traffic signal @ Brockaway Place), the cars leaving
Stop & Shop can not see the traffic on S. Kensico (due to a curve and
a hill) and this is a big problem say 5 PM during the week. I somehow
THOUGHT the Stop & Shop was going to have a traffic light there. Shop
& Shop was going to install a football/soccer scoreboard (in front of
the wall of the garage facing Eastview School), and some pine trees,
but that was 86ed).

3. The intersection of Central Avenue and Aqueduct Road. I couldn't
even tell you how many drivers from northbound Central Avenue cut in
front of southbound drivers in attempting to race and get all the
lights on Aqueduct Road. Also, many drivers coming south from
Aqueduct road run the stop sign AND wander into both southbound lanes
weaving towards the left for some reason or another. Joe Bellantoni
from Bellantoni's Bakery told me that back in the 1960's there was a
blinking AMBER light there for Central Avenue traffic and it had a
blinking RED light for Aqueduct Road cars. But these blinking lights
were removed many years ago.

Rob T.

On Jun 10, 3:42 pm, George Curtis <lorid...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Several years ago a man was killed at the corner of Franklin Avenue
> and Westchester Avenue. It is a very dangerous intersection with cars
> zooming down from Mitchell Place and up Westchester Avenue to merge at
> about Franklin Avenue.
>
> At one our meeting about two years ago someone from the City of White
> Plains said they were going to install a traffic light at the corner

> of Franklin Avenue and Westchester Avenue. ///clip///