The safety improvements were announced by the Village of Mamaroneck on Wednesday, Aug. 21 in response to the deaths of Mamaroneck residents Molly Murphy Donovan, age 43, and her 6-year-old son, Michael Donovan Volpe on Thursday, June 20.
At around 8:30 a.m. on the day of the crash, the mother and son were struck by a school bus at the intersection of New Street and Mamaroneck Avenue. The bus had been turning left onto Mamaroneck Avenue with the green light while several parents and children had been crossing the street at the crosswalk with the walk sign, according to police.
To make sure a similar incident never happens again, village officials announced the following changes on the Mamaroneck Avenue corridor, which is a Westchester County-owned street:
- County and village officials have agreed to implement a new 25-mile-per-hour speed limit on Mamaroneck Avenue between Interstate 95 and Boston Post Road (Route 1). The 20-mile-per-hour speed limit in the school zone will remain the same;
- An all-pedestrian phase light has been approved for the stop light at Mamaroneck Avenue and New Street.
According to a report complied for the Village of Mamaroneck's Traffic Commission by the AKRF, Inc. consultant company in response to the fatal crash, between 2014 and 2023, there were 405 crashes on Mamaroneck Avenue between Andrews Street and Grand Street, averaging 41 a year. This included eight pedestrian crashes and four bicycle crashes, the report said.
The report also said the corridor crash rate on the stretch of road is three times the statewide average.
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