Is Speeding a Problem in Town?

Valley Road resident Susan Davidson describes the stretch of Valley Road where she lives as scary.

"Within a two-block area there are 12 children from toddlers through age 11, and it's scary to see some of the speeds they drive...at times with limited visibility," she said at a recent town meeting. "Earlier this year, I saw one dead cat, a seriously injured dog and a lot of scared neighbors."

She asked the town to consider measures to slow down drivers and make roads safer, including erecting a stop sign at the intersection of Valley and Edgemont Road. She also asked for the addition of "Children at Play" and "15 MPH" signs in her neighborhood.

Click on the video to view some clips of Valley Road traffic. None of the residents interviewed would appear on camera, but they said they didn't see traffic as an issue.

"I've lived here for years, and I don't see it as a problem," said Monica Kravitt, who was walking her dog on Valley Road. "There are so many parents with kids around here but they are keeping a close eye on them. Honestly? This place shuts down after 5 p.m."

She noted that many parents had fenced in their yards, keeping children far from the curbs.

One middle-aged man also out walking his dog one late afternoon, agreed with Kravitt.  "We're not overrun with fast cars here," he said, declining to give his name.

Residents of Sarles Street have raised similar concerns to the town in a letter from a group of neighbors to town officials. They outlined what they described as dangerous conditions including blind curves, fast drivers and a rise in population, "which had only made matters worse," they stated.

They requested a meeting with town officials from Bedford, New Castle and North Castle to discuss the possibility of adding speed bumps, designating the area as historic with special driving rules and improving signage.

Town response was swift, with some measures taking place prior to the July 20 town meeting at which Davidson spoke.

Bedford police chief William Hayes said the department's analysis on traffic data revealed that no accidents were reported in  2010 on Valley Road; the six that occurred in 2009 were not related to speed, he said. Police had recently stepped up patrolling in the area resulting in speed citations on Valley Road.

New York State law prohibits the use of stop signs as a speed control device, but Commissioner of Public Works Kevin Winn assured Davidson that they would look into additional "children at play" signs.

Some studies have shown adverse affects of adding stop signs to residential areas, including drivers speeding up quickly after the sign, over the frustration at having a new stop in the road—or driving faster in-between stop signs to make up for the time they lost at the new "unnecessary" stop.

Bedford supervisor Lee Robert suggested a community-wide responsibility toward speed issues, noting that traffic is the top complaint heard in her office each week.

"When we ticket, it's often the residents of the streets on which they live," she said. "It falls to each of us to make Bedford a safer place to live."

She said that town officials would be meeting with the Sarles Street residents and the topic would be discussed at a future board meeting.