On The Road Again: Significant Roads In Greenburgh – Saw Mill River Parkway
By: Riley Wentzler & Felicia Barber
(1920s beginning) (Present Day)
Introduction:
Roads are the arteries and veins that pump the blood of modern civilization, automobile traffic, around this country. Therefore, the significant roads of Greenburgh should be examined. We would now like to examine a road on which construction began the same year that construction of the Bronx River Parkway was completed (http://www.nycroads.com/roads/saw-mill/). This road spans 29.8 miles (http://www.nycroads.com/roads/saw-mill/), all of which fall within Westchester County (https://www.eastcoastroads.com/states/ny/parkways/sawmill). Of that 29.8 miles, only 2.69 miles run through Unincorporated Greenburgh (Greenburgh Department of Public Works). We are speaking of course of The Saw Mill River Parkway which was constructed with a different goal in mind than the goal of the Bronx River Parkway.
Birth of a Road:
Construction began in 1925 (http://www.nycroads.com/roads/saw-mill/). While the goal of the Bronx River Parkway was to ease pollution of the Bronx River, the goal of the Saw Mill River Parkway in contrast, was to have medium-low speed road in order to allow for scenic drives (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/scenichistory.cfm).
Completion:
Construction was completed in 1954 (http://www.nycroads.com/roads/saw-mill/). It is an integral part of the New York State Parkway System.
Westchester County Government began to construct The South County Trailway which runs along the Saw Mill River Parkway in 1990. The South County Trailway is ranked by the residents of Westchester County as one of the best bike trails in the county (https://mommypoppins.com/kids/bike-riding-with-kids-best-bike-paths-for-family-cycling-in-westchester). For a history of The South County Trailway, see our article, The Disappearing Railroad Blues” in Greenburgh: The Fate of the Putnam Railroad Line and the old Putnam Trail The-Disappearing-Railroad-Blues-in-Greenburgh (greenburghny.com)
The Sawmill River Parkway has accomplished its goal and has become central to many New Yorkers‘ lives.
Previous Slices of History include:
- Hastings’ Best and Brightest: Nobel Laureates of Hastings
(8/1/2020) https://greenburghny.com/DocumentCenter/View/7065/Hastings-Best-and--Brightest---Nobel-Laureates-of-Hastings
- A Truly Trailblazing Road: Historic Roads in Greenburgh Part I- The Bronx River Parkway (12/19/2020)
https://www.greenburghny.com/DocumentCenter/View/7292/A-Truly-Trailblazing-Road-Historic-Roads-In-Greenburgh-Part-I
About the Authors:
We are both Assistant Town Historians at Greenburgh Town Hall and we are engaged to be married and are currently looking for permanent employment.
Riley Wentzler:
I was born and raised in a small rural town in central Pennsylvania. In high school, I took every honors course available including four years of Spanish. I received A’s in all of them. I graduated third in my class of 146 students. This brought me to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Once there, I continued my trend of academic excellence. I graduated summa cum laude in Political Science with a minor in Spanish and a Master’s in Communication Studies, with a G.P.A of 3.94. It was also there that I met my lovely fiancée, Felicia Barber. My Master’s in Communication has promoted public speaking, teamwork, and customer service. My Political Science degree has developed my research skills using computer-based tools and provided me with experience using the Microsoft Office products. My minor in Spanish has facilitated my bilingual capabilities. During my internship at Greenburgh, I created the petition for the State Roads project using website tools. My diverse education and areas of interest have provided me with a wide range of skills. I look forward to finding a career opportunity in business or government. To suggest a topic for next week’s article, you can contact me at assistanthistorian@greenburghny.com, or to help me find employment, you can contact me at rjwentzler413@gmail.com
Felicia Barber:
I was born in New York City and raised in Hartsdale, New York. I graduated from Ardsley High School. I recently earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. It was here that I met my fiancé, Riley Wentzler. As a result of my academic excellence, I won a scholarship every year. I learned and applied many graphic design skills to projects during my summer internships and at school. I am proficient in using Adobe graphic design applications including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. For my Identity/branding course at Edinboro, I created logos to appear on the tee-shirts of Physical Education majors. For a veteran’s upcoming event, I used a typeface to focus the reader to the soldier in the poster. For the State Roads Legislative Campaign project, I created the embedded graphic-photo that accompanied the petition I am looking for a job to utilize my skills as a Graphic Designer in an agency, print shop, company or government To suggest a topic for next week’s article, you can contact me at assistanthistorian@greenburghny.com. To learn more about my artwork or to help me find employment you can contact me at feliciadbarber@gmail.com.
Two Interviews with the authors:
https://riverjournalonline.com/around-town/a-love-of-history-and-each-other/13708/
https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/news/stories-main-street-couple-cerebral-palsy-brings-manytalents-town-greenburgh
References:
Eastern Roads. (1996-2018, (NOT GIVEN) (NOT GIVEN)). Saw Mill River Parkway Historic Overview. Retrieved from www.nycroads.com: http://www.nycroads.com/roads/saw-mill/
Golub, D. ( 2003-2020, (NOT GIVEN) (NOT GIVEN)). Saw Mill Parkway. Retrieved from East Coast Roads: https://www.eastcoastroads.com/states/ny/parkways/sawmill
O'Donnell, C. (2018, (NOT GIVEN) (NOT GIVEN)). Best Bike Paths for Family Cycling in Westchester. Retrieved from Mommy Poppins : https://mommypoppins.com/kids/bike-riding-with-kids-bestbike-paths-for-family-cycling-in-westchester
U.S. Department of Transportation. (2017, June 27). History of Scenic Road Programs. Retrieved from Federal Highway Administration: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/scenichistory.cfm