The Memorial Plaza parking lot and slip lane are getting a makeover this fall. Construction on the project, officially titled the Manville Road Corridor Improvement Project, begin today. The project aims to improve the safety of both pedestrians and drivers on the Memorial Avenue Corridor to Tompkins Avenue.

The project will involve the closure of the “slip lane” onto Manville Road and the construction of a right turn lane at the Memorial Plaza and Manville Road intersection. It will also require the closure of 16 permitted spaces and seven metered spaces in the parking lot. Once construction is completed, all but seven spaces, will open back up.

In addition to the closure of the slip lane, there will be many improvements to the Manville Road corridor. According to an article published under the Projects and Initiatives section of the Pleasantville Village website, “The project consists of modifications to improve pedestrian circulation in downtown Pleasantville, including sidewalk improvements, signal enhancements, speed calming measures, pedestrian signals, medians, and other improvements.”

While these improvements will help Pleasantville in the long run, the loss of 16 parking spots during construction in the busiest parking lot in Pleasantville could lead to frustration and difficult parking for drivers, but Mayor Peter Scherer said the Village Board planned for this. 

“We also now have 25 spaces in the parking garage under the new building at 70 Memorial that will be available for permit parking — adding to that supply and hopefully reducing some of the demand on the plaza,” he said. “As people’s work schedules have changed post-pandemic, we are seeing different parking patterns — less demand for commuter parking, more demand evenings and weekends.

“It’s a never-ending process of watching what’s happening and trying to respond by adjusting parking rules.”

Pleasantville Village Administrator Eric Morrissey agreed other parking was available. “There are enough spaces within the Memorial Plaza parking lot to accommodate all permit holders with spaces left available after 10 a.m. for paid parking,” he said. “There are lightly utilized metered spaces available for any overflow parking on Bedford Rd, Manville Rd and within the Village-owned Hobby Street parking lot.

“There are also many unused spaces on Cooley Street and within the Cooley Street permit lot that is free after 3 p.m. and on weekends. The Village conducted a parking study which concluded that there is enough parking in the downtown to accommodate the loss of parking.

 

 

There has been some concern about the impact of the changes on the Pleasantville Farmer’s Market, which takes place in Memorial Plaza Saturday mornings. “The market is communicating the availability of parking on Cooley Street (which has just completed a significant roadway enhancement project) and around the Memorial Plaza area.  

Following the Manville Road Improvement Project will be the construction of a civic space at Memorial Plaza. The north end of Memorial Plaza will be turned into a green “civic” space, complete with shrubs, Adirondack chairs, and planting beds.

Scherer said the improvement project has been coming for a long time. 

“This has been discussed for something like 20 years, as the existing ‘slip lane’ is convenient for some drivers — but it creates a hazard for both drivers and pedestrians,” he said. “The accident rate there (mostly minor, thankfully) has been three or four times higher than the average for New York state-owned roads. 

“It’s been a long run, as the slip lane area is part of a project that improves two blocks of Manville Road — from Memorial Plaza to Tompkins Avenue, but the Shell station,” Scherer said. “We got a NYS grant of $1.5 million about 5 years ago (added to $750K from the Village) but there is a long (sometimes tortured) route to bringing the project to fruition.”

The Manville Road construction is expected to be finished in November. Construction of the civic space will begin afterwards.