Mayor Comments on the Scarsdale Pool, Traffic Calming and Freightway Garage

What’s the status of the pool renovation project, freightway garage and traffic-caliming proposals? We followed up with Scarsdale Mayor Justin Arest and here is what he shared:

Last we heard that the pool renovation had been assigned to an ad hoc committee. Have they met? Have they come to any conclusions? What is the timeline for this project?

Yes, the pool advisory committee has met once. Two members of this group have aided the village in finalizing the selection of the construction manager. This process was not expected to take as long, but the contract for pre-construction services should be on our next meeting's agenda. We expect to move quickly into schematic design and will keep the public informed. He later added, "We are excited for the 2024 pool and rec camp season!"

Also last year there was a study of traffic calming measures along Popham Road, Fox Meadow Road, and Sprague Road. What is the status of those proposals? Will any be tested or implemented?

A decision was made when FHI was first engaged to use Sprague Road for initial study and to develop and pilot potential solutions to traffic safety concerns. We knew that residents expressed a desire for stop signs but have been repeatedly told by our experts that the legal warrants for installing stop signs could not be met at these locations. FHI made recommendations that were also reviewed and discussed by staff and presented at a special public work session with targeted invitations to impacted residents for their input. Because those who attended expressed strong disagreement with the solutions offered by the consultant, we have tabled this matter for the time being. We do hope we can find neighborhood consensus for solutions for this active traffic corridor.

In the ongoing discussion about Freightway, is the Village paying the $3 million to maintain it in 2024-25? Or is there another plan in mind?

There was $250,000 allocated in the FY 23-24 budget. All of that money is expected to be used this fiscal year. We currently have $700,500 in the capital projects section for the Freightway garage in the FY 24-25 first pass budget. I think the $3 million you are referring to has remained about the same but was always expected to be spread out over a few years. We recognize that this important village asset needs continuing maintenance and will thus remain part of budget and planning discussions in the coming years.