WHITE PLAINS, NY (May 28, 2026) — Nearly one year after Westchester County launched its Complete Streets Municipal Assistance Program with a press event on Quaker Ridge Road in New Rochelle, county lawmakers are now advancing the first round of project funding — but New Rochelle is not among the municipalities currently receiving design grants.
The funding discussion took place Tuesday during a joint meeting of the Westchester County Board of Legislators’ Budget & Appropriations and Infrastructure & Housing committees, chaired by Legislator Tyrae Woodson-Samuels.
The Complete Streets legislation was referred to the committees on Budget & Appropriations and Infrastructure & Housing. Guests for the presentation included Planning Commissioner Blanca Lopez, Associate Transportation Planner Stephen Courage and Director of Transportation Planning Craig Lader.
When asked for an update on the program, Catherine Cioffi, communications director for Westchester County, said to “circle back June 1 for more information.”
However, county legislation, committee materials and the presentation before lawmakers already show where the first round of funding is headed — and where it is not.
The legislation before the Board of Legislators would increase the Complete Streets Fund from $15 million to $16 million, authorize a $4 million design bond for 11 municipalities and authorize a $1.395 million construction bond for Mount Kisco’s Streetscape Sidewalk Improvements Phase 3B project, leaving roughly $10.6 million in the overall fund not yet specifically allocated through the current legislative package.
County officials said the Department of Planning received 27 applications from 22 municipalities totaling approximately $30 million in requests. The county is currently recommending 12 projects for immediate action: 11 design-and-construction projects receiving design funding now and one construction-only project in Mount Kisco.
New Rochelle is not listed among the municipalities receiving design funding.
That omission does not necessarily mean New Rochelle was denied funding. The current legislative package is primarily focused on design-phase funding, while New Rochelle already completed substantial design work years ago for the Quaker Ridge Road Complete Streets project. The city has previously stated it was pursuing construction funding.
The county program allows municipalities to apply either for design-and-construction funding or construction-only funding, with the county contributing up to 50% of total project costs.
Mount Kisco is currently the only municipality receiving construction funding because it has already completed its design work and is considered ready for construction. The county would reimburse up to 50% of construction and construction management costs for the project.
The Mount Kisco Streetscape Sidewalk Improvements Phase 3B project focuses on a quarter-mile section of South Moger Avenue and River Avenue. Planned improvements include reconstructed sidewalks, upgraded pedestrian crossings, ornamental lighting, benches, landscaping, curb extensions and a planted median intended to calm traffic and improve pedestrian safety.
County officials indicated during the committee discussion that the municipalities now receiving design funding are unlikely to move into construction before approximately 2028.
That timeline has implications for New Rochelle residents waiting to see whether Quaker Ridge Road will finally move forward after years of delays, escalating costs and disputes over outdated traffic data.
The 11 municipalities receiving design funding are Yonkers, Peekskill, Dobbs Ferry, Somers, White Plains, Irvington, Hastings-on-Hudson, Mount Pleasant, Buchanan, Larchmont and Croton-on-Hudson.
Among the projects discussed in detail was Larchmont’s Neighborhood Intersection Pedestrian Upgrades project, which would receive $28,000 in county design funding.
The Larchmont proposal focuses on complicated intersections near Parkway Street, Soundview Drive, Palmer Avenue, Lyons Place, Locust Avenue and Monroe Avenue. County documents describe the goal as simplifying confusing roadway configurations through pedestrian-focused redesigns, including closing slip lanes, shortening crossing distances and creating pedestrian plaza areas.
Town of Mamaroneck officials were also discussed during the committee presentation even though their project is not yet being bonded.
County officials said the Town of Mamaroneck project is awaiting additional design completion before construction funding can proceed. According to the presentation, the project currently has design work approximately 60% complete.
The Town of Mamaroneck proposal would involve an estimated $5 million project, with the county potentially contributing approximately $1 million toward construction costs once the project is ready. Officials indicated the project could return for bonding consideration later in 2026 or early 2027.
County officials also referenced a Greenburgh project with most funding already secured but still facing an estimated $1 million funding gap, as well as a Sleepy Hollow project currently in design after receiving Community Development Block Grant funding.
The county filing states that projects funded under the program may include sidewalks, crosswalk upgrades, bike lanes, signal improvements, accessible curb ramps, curb extensions, lighting, landscaping, drainage improvements and flood mitigation measures.
For New Rochelle, the funding discussion comes against the backdrop of the city’s troubled Quaker Ridge Road Complete Streets effort.
The city first received federal and state funding in 2017 for a redesign of Quaker Ridge Road between North Avenue and Weaver Street. The proposal called for reducing the roadway from four travel lanes to one lane in each direction with a center turning lane, bicycle lanes, widened sidewalks, upgraded traffic signals and pedestrian improvements.
The project was originally expected to move into construction years ago, but delays, inflation and rising costs dramatically increased the estimated price tag.
By September 2025, city officials said the total project cost had risen to approximately $13.4 million. At a public hearing that month, city officials said they had secured roughly $6.8 million but still faced a funding gap exceeding $6.6 million.
That hearing generated significant public criticism over the use of traffic studies based largely on 2018 data incorporated into a 2020 Final Design Report.
Residents questioned whether post-COVID traffic patterns, nearby development changes and new traffic generators had rendered portions of the analysis outdated.
The Final Design Report itself acknowledged that a separate William B. Ward Elementary School traffic study was still incomplete at the time the report was finalized in 2020.
The city held the September hearing in part to satisfy county grant application requirements. Applications for the county program were due Sept. 19, 2025.
County materials also note that municipalities seeking funding must demonstrate public outreach, conceptual design work and municipal financial commitments before funding approvals can move forward.
The county is also planning an additional $15 million capital request in the 2027 budget cycle. Officials said the intent is to fund remaining applications that were not selected in the current round while also opening a new round of applications.
For Quaker Ridge Road, nearly one year after county officials stood alongside New Rochelle leaders to announce the Complete Streets program, the central question remains unresolved: whether New Rochelle’s long-delayed project will eventually receive the construction funding needed to move forward.
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.
Have information about this story? Email robertcox@talkofthesound (preferred) or contact via WhatsApp: +353 089 972 0669.
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