Orangetown Pursues Grants for Projects in Pearl River, Tappan

The intersection of Central Avenue and Middletown Road in Pearl River presents a challenge for pedestrians.

Orangetown Highway Superintendent Jim Dean spoke of how "pedestrian unfriendly" the heavily-used intersection with CVS Pharmacy and ShopRite of Pearl River on opposite corners can be early this year as the town applied for a $180,000 Community Development Block Grant to address the issue. Orangetown's request was among those turned down for the federal Housing and Urban Development money. 

"It's very difficult for pedestrians to get across that," Dean said. "The intersection needs to be recreated to make it safe for pedestrians to get across the road."


Orangetown will try again to obtain funding for the project, this time as one of the projects included in an application for federal money that would come through New York State through the Transportation Enhancement Program.  The Orangetown Council voted Tuesday to approve the use of the services of grant writer Sylvia Welch to prepare two grants on behalf of the town at a cost of $2,000.

One grant would go through the New York State Consolidated Funding Application to the Environmental Facilities Corporation. The town will request a $200,000 Green Innovation Grant to expand the Homes for Heroes drainage project to cover all of an abandoned parking area in Tappan.

Homes for Heroes is building housing for veterans near Western Highway, but would allow the town to use part of the land to for storm water retention. The goal is to limit flood damage and improve water quality. The grant is due Aug. 12, 2013 and would pay for 90 percent of the project, with 10 percent coming from the town.

The Transportation Enhancement Program grant request would be for approximately $2.2 million to pay for transportation and pedestrian safety improvements in Pearl River, including the intersection of Central Ave. and Middletown Road. The intersection of Middletown Road and Blauvelt Road would also be reconfigured.

That grant request had initially been put together with another $500,000 to alter traffic flow in and out of the commuter lot by the Pearl River Train Station and add a bus shelter to Braunsdorf Park, but Councilmen Tom Morr and Tom Diviny both opposed that idea. The altered route would have all traffic, including buses, entering from Main Street, then exit onto Central Ave. 

Diviny and Morr both said they were concerned that adding bus traffic would make the area more dangerous to pedestrians. Morr uses the station for his daily commute and Diviny's law offices are nearby.

"With buses coming around and hundreds of people coming off the train, something will happen," Morr said. "It's not a wide street to begin with."

Part of the funding for these projects goes to studies of their potential effectiveness.

"My concern is if we do apply and they say it is a reasonable place to put (the bus shelter)," Diviny said. "I don't think that's true from the get-go. I work there. I see people coming and going, almost getting hit by cars all the time. I don't see how it is safe making buses turn on South Main into that lot."

Dean pointed out that the town's application could be more likely to get the grant with the bus shelter proposal included, but the members of the town council felt it was important to have a 5-0 vote on whatever they submit. The bus shelter was removed from the application and the measure passed unanimously.