A new committee is focusing on improving pedestrian safety and increasing walking within Pleasantville. On September 24, 2018, the Village Board of Trustees officially recognized the Pedestrian Safety Committee.

Members of the village board said they received increasing concerns from Pleasantville residents about  pedestrian safety. Resident Carrie Roberts decided to start an informal committee over the summer to deal with the issue.

“I was the one who suggested [to Carrie] that we formalize the committee with the board,” said Nicole Asquith, trustee on the village board. “They’ve had a total of three meetings to date, and it was after the last meeting that [the committee] was formalized.”

The first thing on the committee’s agenda is surveying the residents of Pleasantville, in person and through social media.

“The surveys are a way of taking input from the community as to what intersections they may find problematic [for pedestrians], and to also get a feel of how often people are walking,” Asquith said. “The village has a Facebook page, and the survey will also be available to residents on there.”

Asquith is excited for what the committee’s plans are, but she admits that there are some things that may be a bit difficult for them to achieve.

“One particularly difficult issue to address is sidewalks,” she said. “A lot of residents would love to see sidewalks in places where there aren’t any. In some places that may be feasible, but in others it will be difficult.”

The committee also has plans for having more people, specifically schoolchildren, walk more in and around the village.

“[The committee] talked about having a ‘buddy system’ where high school kids would chaperone younger kids on their way to school so that it’s safer for them,” Asquith said.

From what Asquith has observed, the desire for pedestrian safety in the village has increased within the past few years.

“I think that the increasing concern about pedestrian safety is a positive sign, because it shows that there are a lot of people in the village who want to walk,” she said.

A street that’s labeled as one of the biggest concerns for pedestrians is Washington Avenue. Unfortunately, Asquith said, that street is out of the village’s purview.

“Washington is actually a county road, not a village road, so that makes it very complicated to address,” Asquith said.

According to Asquith, the walkability of Pleasantville and its reputation by many of its residents as a “walkable town” goes to the heart of the village’s identity and where it is going in the future. She said she is excited about the newly-formed committee and what they plan to do within the village.