Meet the Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Commission and its Co-Chairs Brian Dempsey and Kelsey Johnson
(PHOTO: The City of Rye Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Committee meeting at Rye City Hall on June 13, 2024. Left to right: Sitting: Jason Ertel, Robert November, Kelsey Johnson (liaison from School Board and co-chair), Sun Matsui. Standing: Niamh Alexander (vice chair), Brian Dempsey (chair). Members not in photo: Annamaria LaMonte, Kelly Smith-Powers. Credit: Tilman Oberbannscheidt.)
In this series, MyRye.com will introduce readers to the boards and commissions of the City of Rye and the residents who run them. All volunteers, these residents give their time and expertise to keep our city running. The series is intended to bring visibility to what each board and commission does, its priorities and what might prompt a resident or another person or company to interact with the group.
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Your Names: Brian Dempsey and Kelsey Johnson
Board or Commission you chair: Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Commission (TPS)
Your role: Co-Chairs
MyRye.com: What is the charter for your Commission?
Dempsey and Johnson: Originally the Traffic and Transportation Committee, TPS was established to advise the City Council as well as other entities such as City Staff and the public on traffic and pedestrian safety issues in the City. It is also tasked with seeking public input and promoting public education efforts about traffic and pedestrian safety and issues in Rye.
The Committee is composed of residents with interests in safety. We try to have parent representatives from each of the schools who keep us alert of the traffic and pedestrian issues at the schools. We also have a member of the Police Department as well as a representative of the School District participate in our meetings who are extremely helpful.
Over the years, the TPS has
- Conducted Bicycle Rodeos to teach children about bicycle safety
- Spoken to school children about pedestrian safety and organized “walking school buses” to encourage more children to walk to school
- Participated as judges in the High School Photography contests regarding Traffic Safety and Distracted Driving/Walking Awareness
- Conducted field visits to observe concerns of residents
- Coordinated with the Rye Police Department to organize motor vehicle accident data
- Advocated for and won grant funding for pedestrian safety upgrades, like new sidewalks
- Presented to City Council in response to traffic and pedestrian safety issues
- Educated the public on City policies, for example speed humps, and helped facilitate changes where possible (e.g. Hillside speed hump installation near Rye Country Day)
- Reviewed requests from the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals
Looking at 2025, what will be your top initiatives?
Dempsey and Johnson:
- Safety around schools including awareness at crosswalks and that not every driver stops at the crosswalks. As an example, the City will install a four-way pedestrian phase at Oakland Beach and Milton in 2025 to improve the safety of student and pedestrian crossings at this intersection.
- Overall pedestrian and bicycle safety including reinstating the Bicycle Rodeo this spring.
- Improving driver behavior especially regarding speeding, distracted driving, and yielding to pedestrians through education efforts and continued collaboration with community partners like the Rye Police Department.
Who is the City Council liaison to your Commission for 2025?
Dempsey and Johnson: James Ward, the newest member of the City Council, has just been named our liaison.
Tell us about the residents or others you interact with at your Commission.
Dempsey and Johnson:
We collaborate with the Police and Fire Departments as well as the Engineering, Planning and Public Works Departments and the City Manager. We coordinate with Westchester County and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). We review traffic and pedestrian items that are brought to the Committee from residents or from members of the Committee.
Most of our discussion items come from residents with traffic or pedestrian concerns who speak at the beginning of our meetings or have submitted a letter or email. Many of these residents tend to be relatively new to Rye. The majority of comments are about the area around the schools, speeding, drivers not yielding to pedestrians and distracted driving.
When was your Commission chartered by the City of Rye?
Dempsey and Johnson: TPS was established in the 1990s as far as we can tell. There was a brief hiatus but then it was reformed later in 1998. It was originally named the Traffic and Transportation Committee, but pedestrian safety became more of a focus and the name was changed in 2010. TPS Members have represented the Committee in joint projects with other Boards and Commissions and have presented to the City Council, Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.
Looking back across 2024, what were your Commission’s top achievements?
Dempsey and Johnson:
- Coordinated with the City and School District to improve pedestrian safety around the schools. This included a crossing guard coffee in the spring to solicit direct feedback from these important community partners on pedestrian and bicycle safety.
- Upgraded the pedestrian crossings at various locations in the City including adding Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB’s) as well as improving signing and striping. Also, improved the pedestrian crossings along Midland Avenue including across Grace Church Street on the northeast side in conjunction with the County’s repaving project.
- Increased the number of mobile speed signs installed throughout the city. These signs both gather useful speed and traffic volume data while positively impacting driving speeds. We have received a lot of positive feedback from community members on these installations as a way to mitigate speeding.
Tell us about you:
How long have you been in your current role?
Dempsey: I was added to the Committee in the mid-1990s, then the Committee was put on hiatus. I was Vice Chairman in 1998 when the Committee re-started and then have been Chairman since about 2000.
Johnson: I was appointed to the committee in 2018 following my advocacy for a sidewalk on Forest Avenue. From 2021-24, I participated as the liaison from the RCSD school board and re-joined as a TPS member in 2024.
Who appointed you to this position, and when?
Dempsey: Steve Otis when he was Mayor back around 1998.
Johnson: Mayor Josh Cohn appointed me in 2018 and again in 2024 following my school board service.
Is the role full time or part time? Paid or volunteer?
Dempsey and Johnson: This is a part-time, volunteer position.
What is your day job?
Dempsey: I am a Licensed Professional Engineer in six states, a Certified Professional Traffic Operations Engineer, and a Certified Roadway Safety Profession as well as a Partner in a Consulting Engineering Company where I have been for almost 40 years, specializing in Traffic Engineering. I also serve on the Westchester County Traffic Safety Board and have represented the majority of municipalities in Westchester County as well as represented the County and State.
Johnson: I am a mother of four children spanning Midland, RMS and RHS, as well as a community connector and organizer.
How much time does your role require in a typical month?
Dempsey and Johnson: It takes several hours a week including talking to residents, responding to resident comments, preparing agendas and minutes, performing research of legal issues and State/Federal regulations on signage and other issues, site visits and observations, meetings/discussions with City staff, conducting traffic counts and traffic signal timings. Also, we get stopped all over the City with residents who have a traffic issue.
How would your friends and family describe you in one word?
Dempsey: Caring.
Johnson: Dedicated.
Where did you grow up?
Dempsey: I was born and raised in Rye in the Hix Park area in a house my father built when he got back from World War II. My family has been in Rye since the mid-1800s.
Johnson: I was born in Texas and grew up in Massachusetts.
What is your favorite unimportant thing about you?
Johnson: I never turn on the TV…while I enjoy watching it if others flip it on, I am never the initiator.
If the next five years is a chapter in your life, what is this chapter about?
Dempsey: Continue to volunteer my time to help people in the area.
Johnson: Staying healthy and positive, and leaving the world better than where I found it.
What would you do if you were not afraid?
Dempsey: Skydiving – I was set to do it twice previously. The first time was cancelled due to high winds and just before the second time, I blew out my knee and needed surgery, so I took those as signs that it wasn’t meant to be.
Johnson: Sing for an audience – I am energized by music and always belt it out in the car (much to my kids’ dismay), but am too scared to get the notes out for a crowd.
Where do you live in Rye and how many years have you lived in the City?
Dempsey: I was born and raised in Rye and now live in the Mead Pond area.
Johnson: We moved to Rye almost 14 years ago and appreciate how lucky we are to live in such a uniquely special community
Are your meetings recorded? Say yes or no and include link to recordings if available:
Our monthly meetings are now on Zoom. Occasionally the meetings are held in person. They are not recorded but Minutes are on the City Website.
Are written agendas and written meeting minutes available?
Yes. Click here.
Thanks Brian and Kelsey!
Learn More:
Are meetings recorded?: No.
Are written agendas and meeting minutes available?: Yes.
Main Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Committee page on City website
Members of the Commission:
Brian Dempsey, Chair 12-31-27 (term expires)
Kelsey Johnson, Co-Chair 12-31-25
Niamh Alexander 12-31-25
Jason Ertel 12-31-27
Anna Maria LaMonte 12-31-25
Sun Matsui 12-31-25
Robert November 12-31-25
Kelly Smith-Powers 12-31-26
City Manager, ex-officio
Superintendent of Schools, ex-officio
