CITY OF YONKERS DEPLOYS MCLEAN AVENUE TRAFFIC PLAN TO ALLEVIATE CONGESTION

From Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano

YONKERS, NY – October 20, 2021 – Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano today announced the City has deployed a five-part action plan led by the Yonkers Police Department to address traffic congestion issues along the McLean Avenue corridor. Responding to reports of increased traffic along McLean Avenue, Yonkers Police is enacting a multi-agency action plan to relieve congestion from Kimball to Woodlawn Avenues and Sedgewick to Central Park Avenues.

“As many of us return to offices and school, we’ve noticed an increase in traffic patterns in certain locations, mainly along McLean Avenue, leaving motorists and local residents frustrated,” said Mayor Spano. “I’ve directed Yonkers Police to monitor the traffic and devise solutions that may alleviate the issues.”

After a month observing specified traffic hot spots that began at the start of the school year, Yonkers Police reported much of the congestion occurs near St. Barnabas Elementary School, which has experienced increased enrollment and new arrival/dismissal protocols in order to adhere to COVID-19 safety guidelines. These factors have resulted in more school buses, vehicles and an increase in illegal parking, all which block the roadways. Additional school buses and traffic back up from the New York State Thruway along McLean Avenue, from Sedgewick and Harrison Avenues, also was observed.

As a result, Yonkers Police has enacted a five-part action plan, involving other city departments, to address the issues:

1. Retimed traffic lights in the area surrounding St. Barnabas (McLean and Woodlawn) to allow for smoother traffic flow.

2. An additional School Crossing Guard assigned to McLean and Woodlawn to allow for smoother pedestrian crossing.

3. Coordinated effort among Yonkers Police, School Crossing Guards and the St. Barnabas school administration to allow for faster unloading and loading of students to school buses.

4. Deployment of two Yonkers Police Officers to patrol near St. Barnabas for a two-week period during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up to control traffic flow and issue citations to illegally parked vehicles, specifically double parked cars.

5. Recommendation to adjust school bus stop location near McLean and Sedgewick to Harrison Avenue, which may relieve blocked traffic.

“As schools opened their doors after Labor Day and as more and more people return to their place of work, we have seen a significant increase in traffic across our city, but most notably along the Mclean Avenue corridor. Every morning I drive my children across the city to school. It has taken me as long as 45 minutes to get across McLean Ave from Bronx River Road to South Broadway. I commend Mayor Spano for his swift action and addressing this problem head on. This is a quality of life issue that must not be ignored,” stated Councilmember John Rubbo.

Mayor Spano added, “Responding and reacting to issues like this is just another step in improving the quality of life for our residents. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of our community partners, city agencies and schools, we’ve been able to identify some of the unique contributing factors causing the increased congestion on our roadways. Our Yonkers Police will continue to monitor traffic flow along the corridor and determine if additional resources are needed.”