Preventing Slip and Falls; Sidewalk Near Larchmont Train to be Repaired

Though many may not notice it as they dash to and from the train toward work or home, a heavily trafficked corner of Myrtle Boulevard and North Chatsworth Avenue in the Town of Mamaroneck is a hazard waiting to happen.

It all started when Larchmont resident and local attorney Ralph Engel happened upon the hot spot right near the Larchmont train station.

“One day, walking along Chatsworth Avenue from the village to the town, I noticed that there is a rather steep portion of sidewalk (just over the border from the village to the town) which is heavily trafficked by people going to and from the railroad station (and elsewhere), and which has thus been worn smooth by use.  Thus, it seemed to me that that strip of sidewalk could be slippery when wet or, worse, when covered with snow and ice in winter, which could result in injuries,” he said in an e-mail.

Engel also serves as director of the Morris S. and Florence H. Bender Foundation, an organization named for a physician and his wife who were interested in public safety.  The Foundation, according to Engel, has been the to the renovation.

After approaching the town about potentially fixing the sidewalk, he was told that the funds would need to be raised privately, as there was no additional money in the town’s budget this year.

“I thus approached the other directors of the Foundation, who agreed that preventing injuries is something that the Benders would have liked to do, and thus agreed to make a grant to the town sufficient to do this work, contingent upon the town accepting the grant solely for this purpose and completing the work on the sidewalk before this winter begins,” said Engel about a $10,000 grant presented to the town.

The $10,000 grant will be utilized in installing a more slip resistant sidewalk surface in the area mentioned above.

The grant was added to the existing 2011 capital project budget.  The board approved the grant unanimously.