The Post Road is FAT: Rye City Council – Meeting Minutes from January 16, 2008

The bombastic George Pratt took the role of acting Mayor in the absence of Steve Otis to run the January 16, 2008 Rye City Council meeting. Councilman Sack was absent but all other council people were in attendance.

Rye City Clerk Susan A. Morison has penned and published the minutes from the meeting. Topics covered included:

• a resolution endorsing naming the Rye post office in honor of Caroline O’Day;
• the approval of the cable franchise agreement with Cablevision after vigorous comments by former Mayor Carey;
• City approval of the three year contract with the RYE CSEA Local 860 DPW Unit (the largest City union) for the contract period of 1/1/07 – 12/31/09;
• an interesting discussion of the Boston Post Road (BPR) Design Feasibility Study (the “Diet”), prepared by engineering firm Buckhurst, Fish and Jacquemart.

Under the "Diet" plan, the Post Road would be modified to one-way traffic in each direction (vs. the current two lanes each way) between the Old Post Road intersection and the Mamaroneck town line.

The "Diet" was presented by engineer Georges Jacquemart and is designed for traffic calming and safety, possible bike lane additions and aesthetic improvements. According to Jacquemart’s firm, the current roads are sub-standard and unsafe because each lane is so narrow. According to the Buckhurst, Fish and Jacquemart report:

"We conclude that it is feasible to redesign the Boston Post Road. Good levels of service
can be maintained with the proposed redesign and safety can be significantly improved.
The raised median with landscaping allows for significant aesthetic enhancements."

There will be further discussion and public comment on the report. Council had many questions but seemed generally supportive.

For city council junkies, some other important information:

2008 designation of the days and time of regular meetings of the City Council:

January 3 – January 16 

February 13 

March 5 – March 19

April 2 – April 16

May 7 – May 28

June 11   

July 16

August 6

September 3
    
October 1 – October 15

November 5 – November 19

December 3 – December 17

City Council liaisons designated by Mayor Steve Otis:

Ambulance Corps – Councilwoman Parker
Board of Appeal – Councilman Ball
Board of Architectural Review – Councilman Sack
Boat Basin Commission – Councilman Pratt
Commission on Human Rights – Councilman Pratt
Conservation Commission/Advisory Council – Mayor Otis, Councilman Pratt
Finance Committee – Councilwoman Gamache
Landmarks Advisory Committee – Councilman Sack
Recreation Commission – Councilman Ball
Rye Beautification Advisory Commission
Rye Cable Television Committee – Councilwoman Gamache
Rye City School Board – Mayor Otis, Councilman Pratt
Rye Free Reading Room – Councilwoman Gamache, Mayor Otis
Rye Golf Club Commission – Councilman Sack
Rye Merchants Association – Councilman Parker
Rye Playland Advisory Committee – Councilwoman Parker
Rye Senior Advocacy Committee – Councilman Ball
Traffic and Transportation Committee – Councilman Cunningham
Youth Advisory Committee – Unknown

Rye citizens speaking at the meeting included:

Marian Shea, Brookdale Place and Chair of the Rye Senior Advocacy Committee
John Carolin, 66 Milton Road
Dan O’Day, Kirby Lane
Judge Carey
Joe Murphy, adviser to the Rye Senior Advocacy Committee
Brian Dempsey, Chair of the Traffic and Transportation (T&T) Committee
Larry Lehman, 10 Chester Drive, former Chair of the T&T Committee and a traffic engineer