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Mostly Cloudy Sea Cliff gets grant to study street safety
In a recent development, the Village of Sea Cliff has struck gold with a new grant aimed at enhancing road safety.
The first significant grant comes from the federal Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All Program, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Sea Cliff Mayor Elana Villafane enthusiastically detailed the $120,000 grant, emphasizing that it requires no matching funds from the village. However, the overall program cost amounts to $150,000, with the village chipping in $30,000.
“It’s a planning grant, and generally the way these planning grants work is you utilize the money to work with a consultant that will help you figure out what your needs are,” Villafane said. “I’ll give you an example, and this does not represent the totality of the grant; should we have more sidewalks between the elementary school and the middle school?”
Sea Cliff resident Dan Flanzig, the head of the Traffic and Safety Committee, a volunteer organization which advises the mayor and village board on issues regarding traffic and safety, also discussed some of the ways the village plans to use the grant. Flanzig detailed the focus on a comprehensive safety action plan, emphasizing the need for community engagement. The village intends to work with consultants to address critical issues such as sidewalks, traffic control, and pedestrian safety.
Flanzig and Villafane outlined the importance of the Safe Routes to School program, a nationally recognized standard which aims to ensure the safety of children who walk or bike to school. The committee plans to identify the safest routes for children and implement infrastructure projects to encourage alternative modes of transportation. Sea Cliff, with its low-speed crash history, aims to proactively address potential safety concerns.
“We always keep our eyes on high crash locations and on areas that the residents feel unsafe,” Flanzig continued. “We don’t want to have a village full of stop signs in every intersection because that really doesn’t work, but we want to make sure that traffic moves safely through the village.”
While the village is yet to commence the study and planning process, Flanzig reassured that a detailed examination of issues like sidewalk widths, traffic control appropriateness, and walkability is on the horizon. “We want to be a walkable community,” Villafane added, emphasizing the need for safe pathways for residents, especially school children.
While the money for the grant will not arrive for several weeks, and only after Villafane, Flanzig and other village representatives attend a series of webinars about the program specifics, they are confident that the grant will result in a safer, more walkable Sea Cliff for residents of all ages.
This grant was not the only one acquired by Sea Cliff in the last few months. Three others from a variety of different government programs also provide the village with additional funding to address critical concerns and long-term projects.
The second boost to Sea Cliff’s coffers comes from the New York State Department of State through the Environmental Protection Funds’ Smart Growth Community Planning and Zoning Program. This $135,000 grant, with a $15,000 match by the village, will facilitate zoning regulation updates as part of the village’s long-range plan.
Adding a touch of environmental responsibility, the third grant from the Climate Smart Communities Program, enables the village to hire two interns in Sea Cliff’s pursuit of bronze status. Bronze status is conferred on municipalities which do an admirable job of supporting environmental initiatives and enhance community resilience to climate change, among many other factors.
The final grant, a $42,000 award from Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation program, aims to replace the generator at the firehouse, ensuring the village’s emergency preparedness. The grants, totaling an impressive $297,000, will fund critical projects ranging from a comprehensive road safety study to climate-friendly endeavors.
