Sidewalks For Safety (SFS) is a grassroots organization of neighborhood volunteers. We are dedicated to making the Three Village Area a safe place to walk, run, bike and drive. We are working to make the main roads of the Three Village Area safer by adding more sidewalks and bike paths. This would be an asset to our community in so many ways!
We want to create a sustainable future and a plan for the health and wellness of Three Village residents. By engaging members of the community, businesses, and government officials, we hope to make the Three Villages an even better and safer place.
Choose walking and cycling for a healthier planet, mind, and body. Unfortunately, the car has long been prioritized in planning and development, leaving the Three Village Area with inadequate infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. Let's make our roads more livable, healthy, walkable, bikeable, and shareable.
BOARD
ANNEMARIE WAUGH PRESIDENT & FOUNDER
JESSICA WATERBURY JONES VICE PRESIDENT
DOUGLAS REUTER VICE PRESIDENT/COMMUNICATIONS
JUDI WALLACE VICE PRESIDENT/ACCOUNTANT
CYNDI KEANE SECRETARY
DIRECTORS
TIM AUSTIN
KATHLEEN DE RIESTHAL
ANNIKA ERIKSSON
SOTIRIA EVERETT
MOLLY GAUDRY
MALLIE KIM
DR. NANCY MCLINSKEY
HERB MONES
ELENA SADOV
ROGER THOMPSON
MICHELLE WHITTAKER
ADVISOR
GREGORY FERGUSON
Sidewalks are about:
- Safety
- Health - Walking, running, biking
- Independence (So you don’t have to wait for a ride)
- The Environment (Lower your carbon footprint)
- Community
What this would mean:
A safer and healthier connected community.
More walkable and livable.
Children could walk to school and friends homes safety.
Seniors could walk to shops, The Setauket Neighborhood House.
Increase exercise opportunities for the community.
Increase property values: Walkable communities are associated with much higher home values!
Help reduce traffic congestion and pollution by leaving the car at home
Boost social interaction among neighbors by creating a walking-friendly environment.
A more sustainable happier community.
SFS Priorities:
- Promoting 'Three Village Safe Routes to School. This initiative will allow students to safely walk to and from: Gelinas Junior High School, Murphy Junior High School, Arrowhead Elementary, Minnesauke Elementary, Mount Elementary, Nassakeag Elementary, Setauket Elementary and Ward Melville High school.
- Sidewalks for Safety’s vision is for a minimal number of strategically placed sidewalks on a few connector roads to enable everyone to walk safely.
Imagine your kids being able walk safely to school, to friends houses, imagine being able to jog to all the way to West Meadow Beach, imagine being able to walk to get a coffee, to local schools, restaurants, and local shops.
Walkable communities are associated with higher home values!
We are working hard to make this happen. We hope the Town, County and State prioritizes and advances this conversation to make the necessary pedestrian/transportation planning improvements to enhance the safety of the Three Village community and improve the overall quality of life in the area.
Sidewalks For Safety Three Village Pedestrian Safety
Problems:
Three Village is no longer the rural community it once was. Driving presents far more safety risks because of larger vehicles (pick-up trucks and SUVs), speeding and texting. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 72 pedestrians were killed on Long Island in 2022. We need to adapt Three Village roads to make walking and cycling safe, especially for our children.
Solutions:
Sidewalks for Safety is not proposing to add sidewalks to all of Three Village roads. Instead we propose extending and connecting the existing sidewalks around the schools and connecting Stony Brook University (SBU) to community neighborhoods. Sidewalks with a road verge (green mow strip) are safer and keep cars further away from pedestrians (See Christian Ave Sidewalk). Narrowing roads slows traffic down thereby enhancing safety for pedestrians.
Sidewalks For Safety priorities:
Safe sidewalks allowing safe access to and from our schools.
It’s not that many roads!
Just the main connector roads.
Map:
Blue lines = existing Sidewalks
Red dotted = sidewalk extensions needed
Extreme High Priority Roads:
1. N Country Road / Main Street
Connect Farmers Market all the way to Setauket Neighborhood House. This would provide safety to Gelinas students + all residents off Main St could walk safely to Farmers Market/25A stores/Gallery North, Historic Society, Frank Melville Park, Emma Clark Library.
2. Ridgeway and Mud to Gelinas Middle School
To connect with Gelinas School sidewalk that ends at Brandywine Drive. This is a race style turn from Ridgeway onto Mud and means vehicles are speeding around this overgrown blind curve while children are walking on the road.
3. Old Town Road
Connect Ward Melville High School (from Olde Towne Gardens nursery) all the way to Setauket Fire Department. Many WMHS students are walking/track teams running with industrial trucks from Bove, Troffa industrial area on Conswauge road and do not have access to a bus (live less than one mile from WMHS). This would allow all residents off Old Town Road the ability to walk to Greenway trail and to downtown Setauket, The Se-port Deli is a meeting place for WMHS students. Old Town Road has a few existing sidewalks but they are not connected and would connect to Gnarled Hollow.
High Priority roads:
4. Christian Ave to Gelinas Middle School
Extending the existing Christian Ave sidewalk from Erland Rd to Gelinas. This is a major route with many blind curves and would allow all residents off Christian Ave to walk safely to Gelinas, Emma Clark Library, Churches, SB village, Avalon Park & the beach.
5. Quaker Path
to Christian Ave, this would allow all residents off Quaker to walk safely to LIRR, 25A, SBU, Stony Brook school. This would also increase pedestrian access to LIRR and Stony Brook University.
6. Sheep Pasture Road
to Old Town Road. This would make it safe for WMHS, Minnesauke and Nassakeag School students to walk to Three Village Dads and connect to the Setauket gym racket club. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University.
7. Bennetts Road
(existing sidewalk ends at railroad bridge nr 25A) to Sheep Pasture Rd.
8. Pond Path
to upper Sheep Pasture. This would make it safe for WMHS, Minnesauke and Nassakeag School students to walk to Three Village Dads and connect to the Setauket gym/tennis club. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University.
9. Oxhead Road
the sidewalk in front of Murphy JH needs to extend all the way down to Stony Brook Road. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University.
10. Stony Brook Road
from SBU Tech Park to 25A. Mount Elementary school students could walk safely to SB village as well as all residents off Stony Brook Rd. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University.
11. County Road 25A
from Stony Brook Rd to the LIRR. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University and Long Island Museum and make it safe for SBU, Stony Brook School students, faculty and staff.
New updated Sidewalks in 3V Area: Pond Path, Carlton Ave, Bayview Ave to Carlton, Section of Nichols Road infront of firehouse to S road.
Sources:
www.newsday.com/long-island/transportation/report-traffic-fatalities-long-island-risky-behavior-uvli00xg
www.osc.ny.gov/files/reports/pdf/traffic-fatalities-are-growing-in-new-york-state.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
www.pedbikeinfo.org/cms/downloads/PedestrianLitReview_April2014.pdf#page=34&zoom=100,69,350