Grassroots Effort to Revise Dangerous Route 9 Intersection

North Broadway, or Route 9, is one of the most dangerous, accident-prone stretches of road in Sleepy Hollow, and residents have had enough.

Members of the Sleepy Hollow Police Advisory Committee have begun a grassroots effort to petition the state to conduct a traffic survey of the strip, more specifically, the 6-way intersection of  Bedford Road, Beekman Avenue, Hudson Terrace, North Broadway/Route 9 and New Broadway.

"We're asking residents of Sleepy Hollow to sign the letter to have these intersections reviewed because it is a safety issue," said Jennifer Lobato-Church, Chair of the PAC.

Members of the committee are concerned about the timing of lights at the intersection, which they believe are poorly coordinated and encourage drivers to speed through from different angles, creating near-miss situations. Other issues are the lack of dedicated turning lanes, and traffic calming measures.

The PAC has numbers to back up their concerns, The Sleepy Hollow Police department did some preliminary research which showed that 22 percent of all car accidents in the village over the last ten years (152 accidents) occurred at the troublesome intersection.

There are also pedestrian issues since light timing, insufficient marking and poor line of sight make pedestrian crossings areas dangerous, especially considering the proximity of a number of schools and residential neighborhoods.

"We have a High School and a Middle School that is in the middle of this. That is a serious safety issue," said PAC member Ana Lopez.

While the accident rate is high, the village can do little about it since the state is in charge of all traffic matters on the road. That is why a letter writing campaign has begun to push the state Department of Transportation to examine the intersection.

"We need to get their attention," said Police Chief Greg Camp. "If we can get a number of these letters out, individually or as a petition. Whether you drive a vehicle or walk, or even if you don't go to that intersection, your resources are going to the accidents that happen there."

The action by the PAC to get residents involved comes on the heels by residents of Sleepy Hollow Manor and Philipse Manor to have the state conduct a traffic study of Route 9 from the northern border of the village to the intersection of Route 9 and Pierson Avenue. A traffic study on that stretch of road is still pending.  Members of the PAC believe that if enough residents show their concern about the Beekman Avenue intersection, they can piggyback on that Route 9 study to the north.

In the letter to the NYSDOT, drafted by the PAC, members also express concern that the intersection of Route 9 and the High School is not clearly marked, which contributes to traffic jams.

"The traffic on Route 9 is congested enough that cars are stopped in front of the driveway at a green light and cannot proceed forward before the light turns red.  Consequently, these cars block the buses from entering or exiting the driveway," the letter said.

Residents are being asked to print, sign and send letters to the state DOT, to contact their representatives and reach out to board members to show their concerns about safety issues on Route 9. 

"They are going to get blitzkrieged by the residents of this village," Lobato-Church said. "They will pay attention... We're putting them on notice."


You can download a copy of the letter in English or Spanish (it's available in the media section of this article in .pdf and jpg form), sign it and send it to:

David S Parker
Civil Engineer 1
State of New York, Department of Transportation
4 Burnett Boulevard
Poughkeepsie, New York 12603

Or you can drop off the signed letter at the Sleepy Hollow Police Department. Feel free to add your own comments, or draft your own letter as well.