On the afternoon of December 15, 2025, a crash involving three vehicles took place where North Washington Street intersects with Wildey Street.
At around 7 pm on the evening of January 13, 2026, a van speeding northward on Washington Street went through a red light at Central Avenue, turned left, struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk, and fled the scene. (The teenage victim, while incurring significant injuries, survived; and Tarrytown police identified and arrested the driver.)
These collisions are, unfortunately, part of a pattern. According to data from the New York State Department of Transportation, there were eight crashes along Washington Street between 2022 and 2025. The crashes, and those unrecorded by officials (the NYSDOT data did not include the crash on December 15, 2025, for example), serve as a reminder of the dangers associated with the Washington Street corridor.
Washington Street is critical for many reasons. It is the major pedestrian thoroughfare that connects Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown. On days when the TaSH (our local farmers market) operates, when special events take place in Patriots Park, and during tourist season, use of the street is especially heavy. On a more regular basis, it serves as a crucial point of crossing or access road for children, parents and guardians walking to and from the public schools. It is also important for people going to and from the Warner Library, the Neighborhood House, or C-Town.
Washington Street is also neglected for many reasons. It spans the two villages, allowing each to point a finger at the other. It is hilly, prompting some officials to claim that speed humps would be useless and nothing can be done. And it is used by many drivers as an alternative to Broadway.
Residents of Washington Street and those who frequent the thoroughfare have long expressed concerns about speeding drivers and the associated dangers for pedestrians and bicyclists.
In early 2024, twenty residents of the stretch of North Washington Street between College Avenue and Wildey Street submitted a petition to the mayors of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown calling for safety improvements. “We often see and hear cars speeding by,” they wrote. “Parked cars along the street have been damaged and had their mirrors swiped by speeding drivers. We are sometimes scared driving along the curve because it’s difficult to see what’s coming. We are concerned that we or our children could be hit while crossing the road.”
Sleepy Hollow’s Mayor Martin Rutnya had stop signs installed at the intersection of North Washington Street and College Avenue, but he took no additional action. Tarrytown’s Mayor Karen Brown did not respond at all.
Encouraged by Mayor Rutnya’s modest response, residents submitted a second petition to Sleepy Hollow’s government in June 2025. The petition, signed by 25 residents, requested the implementation of traffic calming measures and a “speed hump” close to the border with Tarrytown “to reduce the incidence of drivers traveling at excessive speed.” Residents also submitted an online petition that included comments such as this one: “In the past two years my daughter and I have both nearly been hit by cars that drive right through the intersection [on North Washington where it intersects with College Avenue]. Many don’t even slow down at the blinking lights. In the evening cars drive right through the lights as well. I know this because I live right at the intersection.”
“In the past two years my daughter and I have both nearly been hit by cars that drive right through the intersection [on North Washington where it intersects with College Avenue]. Many don’t even slow down at the blinking lights. In the evening cars drive right through the lights as well. I know this because I live right at the intersection.”
Since then, in early January of this year, Sleepy Hollow installed stop signs at Chestnut and Washington Streets, while also altering the traffic signal at the intersection so that it is always flashing red. This compels all drivers to stop. The change has the added advantage of reducing the tendency of drivers to increase speed as they approach the intersection to “beat the light.”
Meanwhile, the Village of Tarrytown has done nothing along its stretches of the thoroughfare to address the street’s dangers.
Figuring out what to do about Washington Street is undoubtedly challenging. This is one reason why Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown must work together to make Washington Street safe and do so before someone gets badly hurt.
The good news is, both villages now have professional planners on retainer to assist with such matters.
Below are some remedies that Livable Tarrytowns suggests the villages consider implementing.
- Speed bumps and raised crosswalks along Washington.
- More stop signs and/or flashing red lights along all of Washington Street (including the intersections with Wildey and Main Streets).
- Chicanes—alternating curves or obstacles, like curb extensions, that require drivers to weave left and right and, thus, slow down. (See examples below.)
- Beyond these short-term measures, a major makeover of the thoroughfare so that it prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists. One manner by which to do so is to make different segments of the street one-way (for motor vehicles) in different directions, and install a protected, two-way bike lane.
- In addition to constructing chicanes that also act as green infrastructure, a major makeover should include the creation of small spaces, perhaps near intersections, with benches for people to sit down and relax. Washington Street should be more than a road for vehicles and people to pass through; it should be a streetscape for people to enjoy.
We call upon all readers to share their ideas, contact their elected officials, and help us work toward solutions for this important street in our two villages.
Livable Tarrytowns 