On Monday, a packed room of Village residents received news and viewed renderings for the long-awaited downtown streetscape project. Landscape architecture firm Munz Associates delivered the presentation. The Village is aiming to begin the project in spring 2013 with an 18-month construction period when crews will replace sidewalks and road surfaces. The project focuses on Broadway to Broad Street, New Main Street to Clove Avenue, and Main Street to 2nd Street. Heritage streetlamps made of dark green concrete were chosen. The street tree of choice is the Honey Locust. Individual parking meters will be removed and replaced with a digital muni-meter system. Sidewalks will include a band of brick along the curb and feature “bulb-outs” at Broadway and New Main Street in order to shorten crosswalks for pedestrian safety and convenience. Benches and decorative planters will grace the sidewalks and serve as gathering places for shoppers, diners, and residents. Oversized and decorative cast iron tree grates will surround street trees. Utility poles, a source of controversy over past years, will stay in place but crews will replace them with taller fiberglass poles in order to raise electric and phone lines above building facades. Residents raised concerns that the streetscape plan did not fully address the growing bicycling movement in the region. Some called for bike parking provisions – utilizing old parking meter poles as bike racks. Overall, the project is a step in the right direction and a welcome improvement to the Village’s downtown. It sets a clear foundation for further improvement and increased pedestrianization in the future. Some images/renderings from the meeting:
The Federal Transportation Bill of 2005 allotted a significant amount of funds for the reconstruction of the Short Clove Road and Route 9W intersection, which includes construction of twin-bridge overpasses that will carry Short Clove Road over the West Shore Rail Line below. The current intersection is known to be one of the worst in New York State due to high train activity, steep grades, and heavy trucking from the Tilcon quarrying operation nearby. The following press release from the office of New York Senator Charles Schumer details funding and construction plans: 
Governor George E. Pataki has continually supported the Haverstraw Revitalization effort. In his last round of grant distribution, Pataki released $3 million more toward the $150 million needed to continue Haverstraw’s rennaissance. This last funding happened in October of 2002. Since then, numerous projects in the Village have been earmarked by the state and federal government (like the Short Clove Road train overpass that has been funded and is in design stages). Rockland County government has also come through with millions of dollars for Haverstraw. Read about Governor Pataki’s thoughts on Haverstraw 
There’s no overestimating the value of access to the Hudson River, and so there’s no way to put a price on the promenade being built in Haverstraw as part of builder Martin Ginsburg’s Harbors at Haverstraw development.
The New York Times has published numerous articles on the developement and revitalization of the Village of Haverstraw. Read 
