Pedestrians finally have a safe way to walk the busy county road

The new sidewalks along Saddle River Road in Chestnut Ridge are officially open. County and village officials cut the ribbon Tuesday afternoon on a project that has given residents something the busy county road never had before: a safe, continuous place to walk.

Funded by a $1.7 million Rockland County grant secured by Legislator Joel Friedman (District 15), the project added a mile of new curbs and sidewalks along the Chestnut Ridge side of Saddle River Road (County Road 73), from the Terrace Court area up to the New York State Thruway. Work began in mid-July and wrapped up this month.

Until now, this stretch of Saddle River Road had no sidewalk at all. Anyone on foot, from kids walking home to parents pushing strollers, had to share the road with passing cars, day and night. That danger is now gone, and drivers no longer have to steer around pedestrians in the travel lane. The sidewalk has also done something few expected. Families walk to Newday Market, kids run errands on their own, and residents who live a few blocks apart are getting to know one another. Neighbors on the Airmont side of the road are using the new sidewalk too.

Joining Legislator Friedman at the ribbon cutting were County Executive Ed Day, Rockland County Legislature Chairman Jay Hood Jr., Town of Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht, Mayor Rosario Presti, Jr., Deputy Mayor Chaim Rose, Village Trustee Shmuli Fromovitz, and other local and county officials.

Friedman credited the village with helping turn the project into reality.

“From the start, this was about one thing, giving people a safe place to walk,” Friedman said. “This project simply would not have happened without the Village of Chestnut Ridge. I want to thank Mayor Rosario Presti, Jr. and the entire Village Board of Trustees for their partnership, and the village’s participation, including the engineering and design work, is what made it possible. Seeing families out on these sidewalks, walking to their neighbors’ homes and to local shops, is exactly what we set out to do. My thanks also go to County Executive Ed Day, my colleagues in the Rockland County Legislature, and Town of Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht and his Chief of Staff Mona Montal, who were instrumental in getting this off the ground. This is the first project completed under the county’s $30 million countywide sidewalk program, and we plan to bring this model to other parts of the county.”

For Mayor Rosario Presti, Jr., the project is about more than safety.

“Sidewalks like these do more than keep people safe. They bring people together, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing on Saddle River Road,” Presti said. “Our thanks go to Legislator Friedman for securing the funding, to Supervisor Michael Specht and Mona Montal for their support, to our village engineer, Martin Spence of Spence Engineering, for the design and engineering, and to the A-Tech Concrete crews for three months of hard work. Our residents are the ones who benefit.”

Village Trustee Shmuli Fromovitz pointed to what residents see on the street every day.

“Spend a few minutes on Saddle River Road in the afternoon and you’ll see it, kids heading to Newday Market, parents pushing strollers, neighbors stopping to say hello,” Fromovitz said. “Add in the street lights the village has installed over the past few years, and this road is safer than it has ever been, day or night. This happened because of Joel Friedman, and residents are already feeling the difference.”

For Deputy Mayor Chaim Rose, safety is the bottom line.

“Safety is what this project is about. Nobody should have to walk in the street to get home,” Rose said. “A resident told me that all of a sudden, strangers became neighbors, and that’s a wonderful bonus. Families a few blocks apart on Saddle River Road can now walk to one another safely.”