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A
Word From The Mayor |
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Our first step in implementing
Phase I of the Village's comprehensive plan is to modify
the zoning of the Schoen place district. The current M-1
designation is an industrial category that was instituted
nearly 50 years ago when lumber, coal, and wholesale grain
were the primary products sold on Schoen Place. As this
area has transformed into a retail area, the zoning has
been adjusted but never fully overhauled. Our intent is
to alter the zoning to better address existing uses, problems,
and future possibilities. Copies of the new zoning are
available at the Village Hall. We welcome your input.
We are currently working on
several infrastructure improvement projects. The sidewalks
on the south of State Street, east of the bridge, are
currently being replaced. We have contracted with Clough
Harbour Engineers P.C. to do a schematic design for
bank stabilization work along Rand Creek and pavement
and gutter repair in the Greenhill/ Heatherhurst/Courtney
neighborhood. We are also proceeding with a facility
study of the Wiltsie Memorial Building (Village Hall)
to optimize use of the space, develop a long-term maintenance
and repair plan, and improve handicapped accessibility
to the facility. |
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| Even through the summer the Village
Board has retained a busy agenda. Here is an update
on a few issues we are considering.
One of the best things about the Village
is that it is a place where people can walk. Unfortunately,
increasing traffic volume and deteriorating driving
habits can make walking around the Village unsafe. This
past summer, to improve pedestrian safety, the Village
obtained permission from the NYS Department of Transportation
and began placing "Yield to pedestrians in your
half of the roads" at crosswalks. These signs are
an officially sanctioned form of traffic control in
New York State. In the past two years, use of the signs
has spread to villages throughout western New York.
The intent is to make drivers pay attention to pedestrians.
Experience has shown that installation of the signs
also tends to slow drivers down. Response to the signs
has been overwhelmingly positive. After adjusting some
sign locations to avoid conflicts with emergency vehicles
and turning radii, new signs in additional locations
will be reinstalled in the spring. |
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| Have You
Visited The Wiltsie Memorial Building? |
|  Those
of you who conduct your business with the Village Exclusively
through the mail ~ traditional or electronic ~ or by phone
are missing something
The handsome Colonial Revival building at
21 North Main Street that is home to the Village offices was
built in 1855, shortly before the Civil War. During the late
19th Century it was home to prominent local resident Charles
Hastings Wiltsie.
A graduate of the University of Rochester
who went abroad for further study at the Universities of Gottingen
and Berlin in Germany, Wiltsie became an expert in law relating
to mortgage foreclosure. In a more benign mode, perhaps, he
was a founder and president of the Rochester Historical Society
and a charter member and longtime president of the Board of
Trustees of the Rochester Public Library.
In later years, the building was home to
Herbert and Leslie Hutchingson, great-grandparents of Mayor
Bob Corby. |
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In 1937, the Wiltsie Building
was given to the Village by Mr. Wiltsie's daughter, Mrs. Harold
L. Field to be used as the home of the Pittsford Community
Library. In 1974, when the library and community center moved
into a larger building on State Street (the former Star Market
Building), the historic residence took on a new role as Pittsford's
Village Hall.
The next time you're in the Village, why
not stop in and look around? You'll find a portrait of Mr.
Wiltsie over the fireplace in the first-floor meeting room.
Many of the building's interesting interior architectural
features were relocated from another of Mr. Wiltsie's houses,
in the Corn Hill section of Rochester. Notice the beautiful
mahogany paneling and stained glass windows. Can you find
the white phoenix bird emerging from the flames in one of
these windows? This ancient symbol of immortality was used
in the Wiltsie family coat-of-arms. |
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News from the Village of Pittsford, New York |
Fall 2000 |
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