RSS Feed
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
Residents look to slow down traffic on Park Boulevard
"Something needs to be done about it," said Mike Mundo, who's lived on the corner of Massapequa Avenue at Park Boulevard for almost three years. The crossing in question sits two blocks over from Massapequa High School, and is used as a main thoroughfare for traffic going to and from Merrick Road to Sunrise Highway. "I practically cringe when I watch students and the cross country track team try to cross that street," he said. According to Mundo, he borrowed a radar gun from a friend and did his own survey after the Village of Massapequa Park completed its own in January. Mundo said he found that most cars are going just over the 30-mph speed limit at 35 to 40, but some are zooming by at 60. The Village said that between January 12 and January 19, 89,220 cars passed that intersection with 34,019 or 38.13 percent going between 35-40 mph, with the rest going between 40 miles per hour or faster. (See chart) Based on the survey from the village, the speed did not warrant the installation of stop signs or traffic lights, according to Village Clerk Peggy Caltabiano. "In 2004 we asked Nassau County for a traffic device at that intersection and they said the numbers didn't warrant it," she said, explaining that the section of Park Boulevard between Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road is a county road and any changes there need to be approved by the county According to Caltabiano, the recent survey was conducted by the Seventh Precinct, and may or may not be sent to the County as the matter is still under discussion. Although some residents believed that the best solution would be a stop sign, Altadonna said that a traffic light would be the way to go because a stop sign would increase traffic and pollution while not really stopping cars as people tend to roll through them. In addition, state traffic regulations prohibit the use of stop signs as a means of speed control. Frank and Carolyn Bonanno, 25-year residents of the area, wonder if the problem will ever be solved. "You complain, put in a call and the police are here for about a week and i's better," said Mr. Bonanno who added that the problem always comes back. "It's just so aggravating, and it's not only the kids who speed, it's adults in their huge SUVs. I've written several letters to the mayor asking for a stop sign in that area," he added. Sal Monaco and his wife have half-joked about picketing in the middle of Park Boulevard to slow cars down. "Its ridiculous," said Monaco. "The mayor has not done anything and he needs to. What are they waiting for, someone to get killed?" Monaco, who said he's seen dozens of accidents in front of his home added, that he would be willing to pay a few dollars more in taxes to have wide, brick crosswalks put in for pedestrians, or to have stop signs installed every two blocks. Mayor Altadonna acknowledges that a traffic problem exists in that area, but said his adminis- tration has taken aggressive action to help resolve the problem. The Village has asked for a a control device in that area and for additional police presence. "We have stepped up (police) enforcement so much that residents have been asking the officers to move their cars," he said adding that he will send the matter back to the planning commission to see what, if anything, can be done. "We take the safety of our residents very seriously," Nassau County's Seventh Precinct Inspector Jim O'Leary, said 32 traffic violation tickets were issued in the area between March 1 and 21,2007. Those violations include everything from speeding to running stop signs. "There has been a 36 percent increase in traffic violations in that area in the past couple of months and we will continue to monitor that area," he said.
|
for larger version       Ads have a Patent Pending. Click Here for More Information |
|||||||||||||||
)
