This summer Suffolk County Department of Public Works commissioner
Charles Bartha and a host of other local officials went hat-in-hand before the
ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep.
James Oberstar (D-Minn.), to seek funding to institute transportation solutions on
Long Island. And Bartha said then it would take about $1 billion to fix deficiencies
on Nicolls Road, North Ocean Avenue, Pinelawn Road, Fifth Avenue, Portion
Road, Bay Shore Road, North Road, Old Country Road and Montauk Highway.
The study alone to find solutions for William Floyd Parkway would cost about
$700,000, Suffolk Department of Public Works Chief Engineer Bill Shannon said
yesterday.
"I wish I could wave a magic wand and make these problems go away," he said.
"But, I can't."
Local roads - the tree-lined streets through your suburban neighborhood - do not
carry the traffic volumes most county roads carry. Major state roads - highways
such as the Long Island Expressway, the Southern State Parkway, the Northern
State Parkway - are safer because of their nature: limited access, unidirectional,
limited conflict points. But county roads are caught in between. A lot of them -
Fifth Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Commack Road, Route 111, William Floyd Parkway
- carry a lot of traffic and are bordered by residential neighborhoods, malls and
schools.
Once Again, Deadly Crash Happens on a County Road
John Valenti
2003 September 10
Another mother, another daughter killed. Another son left fighting for his life.
Another aftermath of another tragic car accident. Another testament to life - and
death - on our roads on Long Island.
This time it happened on William Floyd Parkway in Shirley. This time it involved a
Saturday night, a red light and an intersection local residents said is a known
danger. This time.
Fact is, it could have happened almost anywhere - on almost any road with an
intersection on Long Island - since you can ask someone to stop at a red light but
you can't make them. And Suffolk police said one driver, Evelyn Asendorf, 59, of
Mastic, ran a red light on William Floyd and struck a car driven by Roseann
Brooks, 45, of Shirley, as she crossed with the green on Robinwood Road. The
collision killed Brooks and her daughter Jennifer, 17. It left her son, Bruce Jr.,
15, in critical condition at Stony Brook University Hospital. All of which might be
fate.
Except it is little surprise that such an accident occurred on a county road,
instead of a state road or a local one. A recent Newsday investigation of the most
dangerous roads on Long Island found that the 10 deadliest roads in Suffolk
County between 1999-2001 - the roads with highest fatality rates per 100 million
miles driven - were all county roads. William Floyd Parkway is 15th on that list
with 12 fatalities in that time, though statistics for the southern 5.22 miles
between Montauk Highway and the entrance to Smith Point County Park, where
seven died in that time, would move it into the top 5.
A dubious honor, to say the least.
So what makes these roads so dangerous - and deadly? And who is to blame?
First glance would suggest the county. But, fact is, it might be all of us. Because
the evolution of Long Island has turned roads designed as local thoroughfares
into major arterials, where traffic volume and traffic speed often exceeds design.
And engineers can never design out driver error. Like running a red light. Though
with more money - and with more foresight from communities into land use -
those engineers could design out a lot of hazards.
"We would like to be able to design the safest road possible," said Richard
LaValle, chief deputy commissioner for public works in Suffolk County. "But what
does possible mean? You have economics. It is extremely expensive to do that.
Impacts to the community can be extensive. You have aesthetics. Communities
want an area to look good.
"People want Main Street," he said. "But the fact is we're limited by our options."
Just this summer Suffolk County Department of Public Works commissioner
Charles Bartha and a host of other local officials went hat-in-hand before the
ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep.
James Oberstar (D-Minn.), to seek funding to institute transportation solutions on
Long Island. And Bartha said then it would take about $1 billion to fix deficiencies
on Nicolls Road, North Ocean Avenue, Pinelawn Road, Fifth Avenue, Portion
Road, Bay Shore Road, North Road, Old Country Road and Montauk Highway.
The study alone to find solutions for William Floyd Parkway would cost about
$700,000, Suffolk Department of Public Works Chief Engineer Bill Shannon said
yesterday.
"I wish I could wave a magic wand and make these problems go away," he said.
"But, I can't."
Local roads - the tree-lined streets through your suburban neighborhood - do not
carry the traffic volumes most county roads carry. Major state roads - highways
such as the Long Island Expressway, the Southern State Parkway, the Northern
State Parkway - are safer because of their nature: limited access, unidirectional,
limited conflict points. But county roads are caught in between. A lot of them -
Fifth Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Commack Road, Route 111, William Floyd Parkway
- carry a lot of traffic and are bordered by residential neighborhoods, malls and
schools.
Many of them, Shannon said, are "obsolete." But, because of the limitations,
LaValle said, "We're reduced to dealing with the problems on an
intersection-by-intersection basis." The entire design and new construction
budget for Suffolk this year is less than $20 million. It sounds like a lot. It isn't.
The speed limit is 55 mph on William Floyd Parkway, where the latest fatal
accident occurred. A Home Depot is being built not far from the crash site. It is
the lone major arterial into the area. There are cross streets and intersections.
There is cross traffic.
Years ago, after a study of William Floyd Parkway, the county built sidewalks for
pedestrian traffic, installed pedestrian signals, closed median openings and
reduced access to side streets. The Town of Brookhaven installed lighting. All for
safety.
But no one wants the county to build another Sunrise Highway into Shirley-Mastic
Beach. Despite the fact that what the state did in making Sunrise Highway a
limited-access highway in Suffolk County made the road safer than it once was.
So, what we're left with is pot luck: Dangerous roads. Dangerous conditions.
Dangerous accidents.
And another mother and daughter dead. Another son, left in a coma. And the
rest of us wondering what we can do to see it doesn't happen again.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
longislandernews.com
The Long-IslanderRecordHalf Hollow Hills NewspaperNorthport Journal
The Long-Islander News
Residents from the Town of Huntington turned out in droves for a public meeting
with the town board on August 27. Residents were given three minutes to speak
on the record about concerns they have over the LIRR’s desire to build a
multi-track train facility within the town’s boundaries.
Long-Islander Photo/Brian Ferry
TOWN OF HUNTINGTON
It’s Everyone vs. The LIRR At Hearing
Town board, residents unanimous in opposition to rail yard
By Brian Ferry
On August 27, the Huntington Town Board met with an assemblage of residents
concerned with the MTA and LIRR’s interest in creating an Environmental Impact
Statement that would ultimately allow for the construction of an electric train
storage, cleaning, and maintenance facility. It was the first time the town board
addressed the public since meeting with LIRR Acting President James Dermody in
a closed-door session on August 20.
“We were clear with him that we thought both sites were very problematic,”
Councilman Mark Cuthbertson said of the earlier meeting with Dermody. “He told
us they’re very much listening to public input at this point, and they will have
their public meetings in the near future.” Cuthbertson said that a LIRR public
meeting may happen sometime this fall.
In the meantime, residents had to be satisfied with the town’s meeting — a
transcript of which is to be included in a package officials plan to send to the MTA
and LIRR to represent the town’s formal statement.
It was standing room only for the August 27 meeting. With a thick stack of yellow
cards in hand representing the number of public speakers, Supervisor Frank
Petrone opened the meeting by stating that the town board is unanimously
opposed to a train facility in the town of Huntington.
Of the agencies’ six remaining sites under consideration, two are within the
geographical boundaries of the Town of Huntington. According to maps provided
by the LIRR, site 2 is between the LIRR right-of-way (to the north) and East 5th
Street in Huntington Station, and site 10 is between the LIRR right-of-way (to the
south) and Pulaski Road, just west of Townline Road in East Northport. Another
three areas, site 11 and two designated as site 12, are in the Kings
Park / Commack area but remain within close proximity of East Northport
residents.
Numerous local and state elected officials attended the public meeting.
Assemblyman Steve Levy, who does not represent the area but is a Democratic
candidate for Suffolk County Executive, was careful to say that he didn’t condemn
the LIRR outright, but had many questions to pose to their officials, such as
whether or not the facility was definitely needed, whether or not the east-side
access project involving Grand Central Station was definitely happening. He
added that host communities should receive incentives should the facility be built
in their communities.
Suffolk County Legislator Jon Cooper called the LIRR’s interests “preposterous”
because of the lack of open space. “I am here to say the MTA is wrong,” he said.
“My opposition is not to the existence of a rail yard within the Town of Huntington.
My opposition is to the placement of a rail yard within a softball’s throw of a
children’s ball field,” Cooper said. “My opposition is to the placement of a rail yard
in the middle of a residential neighborhood that is already facing dramatic
economic challenges.”
State Assemblyman James Conte did not address the town board but did provide
to The Long-Islander a copy of a letter that he sent to LIRR’s Dermody.
“To me and many of the people I represent, site #2 has many fatally flawed
weaknesses including: Size and layout: Terrain and geology; Traffic; and
Conflicts with nearby properties,” Conte’s letter reads. “As you state in your April
30, 2003 letter: ‘The community of Greenlawn is exempt because of a decision in
2000 by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority not to build in that area.’ I
firmly believe that all of the reasons not to build in Greenlawn apply to a site
1/2-mile away in Huntington Station.”
Huntington Station resident Richard Rankin was among the first community
members to address the town board. He also sent a letter to the newspaper with
some of the questions he feels remain unanswered after all the meeting that
have occurred already.
“The need for a train yard is obvious,” he said at the meeting, going on to say,
“the complaints are all real issues and perhaps they can be dealt with.”
Mark Cuthbertson interjected between speakers to elaborate on one point. Alan
Leon spoke of concern with the East Northport, Commack, and Kings Park
impacts, and suggested that the necessary electrification of points east of
Huntington Station would create all new traffic problems for commuters and
residents alike. Cuthbertson said that Dermody made it clear at their meeting that
the MTA and LIRR are in no financial position to purchase additional “switching”
locomotives that could run on either electric or diesel power.
Manny Darwin, another Huntington Station resident, touched on many of the
common issues that others have brought up in the past and will continue to bring
up as long as their questions remain unanswered. These questions involve the
amounts of noise pollution, the storage and use of chemicals and fuels, the
gradient of the property, the use of lights, and more. However, Darwin also
addressed a major concern regarding the Huntington Station site that no one else
has directly made the connection with.
“The yard will virtually abut Manor Field with its tennis courts, baseball field,
children’s playground, and the Huntington Community Center currently
undergoing renovation and expansion,” he said. “Most importantly, the yard has
the potential to be an attractive nuisance. Children are naturally curious and the
proximity of Manor Field to the facility may well draw the more adventuresome to
divert their attention to the exciting things going on within the yard.”
Speaking directly after Manny Darwin was his wife Eileen Darwin. After the
meeting she added that it is her opinion that the MTA needs to approach this need
on a regional approach in order to best understand what options are available to
them. They also need to determine what the long-term needs of the LIRR are and
how the region can adapt accordingly. But the crowd favored her parting
comment, which came the night of the meeting. As the bell rang to signal the end
of her three minutes to speak, she concluded with, “200 years ago Benjamin
Franklin sent a kite with a key into the sky and discovered electricity. Sadly, the
MTA is still in the dark.”
Along with the submission of their formal statement, the Darwins included a
recent article from the East Hampton Star about how Montauk residents are
furious over LIRR diesel trains creating various types of pollution in their region.
The New York Times followed with their own account in the Long Island section
this past Sunday. There is both a train station and six-track rail yard located at
the Edgemere Road stop. Residents and business owners complain about 24-hour
noise pollution, the smell of diesel exhaust, as well as eyesores reported by the
Star to include “‘shanty-like’ temporary buildings, overflowing garbage
containers, old rusted equipment, and ‘suspicious’ storage containers.” The Times
reported that one condo, Montauk Manor, has lost thousands of dollars due to
refunds paid to residents who are bothered at night by the train engines. The
Times also reports that LIRR spokesman Brian Dolan insists the trains must sit
idle because the engines take several hours to warm up to operational
temperatures. Residents have formed an organization called the Montauk
Anti-Pollution Coalition to fight the LIRR and MTA.
Theresa Feeney, a resident of the Huntington Country Farms development located
directly across from the Manor Park site, said the MTA should consider sites other
than those in the towns of Huntington and Smithtown.
“It defies business sense and common sense for the LIRR to not consider other
viable sites,” she said. “We’re counting on you [the town board] to help us get
Huntington Station removed from the LIRR’s site list.”
Cuthbertson said, looking back, that the August 27 public meeting was very
helpful and called it a very solid outpouring of opposition to those proposed sites.
“I think we made a very compelling record to send the MTA about our feelings
concerning the rail yards,” he said.
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Local homeowners and concerned citizens turned out for the
LIRR and MTA’s public scoping meeting at East Northport
Middle School on Monday. The scoping meeting was one of the
first steps in a long process to establish a viable site to
build an electric train housing, cleaning, and maintenance
facility between the Huntington station and Smithtown.
EAST NORTHPORT-COMMACK
Small Voices Make Loud Noises
Public cries out against public outcry against facility.
By Brian Ferry
‘Not in my backyard’ would be the appropriate conclusion
to be drawn from public comments heard by Long Island Railroad (LIRR)
and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials on Monday.
A scoping meeting held at East Northport Middle School was one of
the first steps in a process that the two agencies are undertaking
to establish an environmental impact statement that will allow the
construction of a train storage, cleaning, and maintenance facility
somewhere between the Huntington station and Smithtown on the Port
Jefferson line of the LIRR.
The meeting opened with an information session at which two separate
maps — one of Huntington, Greenlawn, and surrounding areas,
the other of East Northport, Commack, Smithtown, and surrounding
areas — were made public for the first time. The maps showed
the proposed sites that the LIRR and MTA are considering. There
was a stenographer available to record questions and comments for
the LIRR and MTA, and some of the agencies’ officials made themselves available to answer questions and concerns.
The maps showed 19 sites that met the agencies’ “initial
list of alternatives.” In order to make this list, a site
needed to meet three basic criteria — location (between Huntington
and Smithtown and within approximately 1/4 mile of the LIRR right-of-way),
size (able to accommodate either an 1,800-foot-long by 425-foot-wide
facility or 1,800-foot-long by 250-foot-wide facility), and use
(the site should be either vacant or underutilized).
Out of the 19 sites listed, 13 were determined to have “fatal
flaws” according to the LIRR and MTA. Fatal flaws included
constructability issues, conflicts with major infrastructure such
as utilities, pre-existing use, protected natural areas, and historic
structures, among others. Included in these 13 eliminated sites
were the playing fields of Harborfields, Northport, and Kings Park
high schools, designated parkland in Kings Park, and a New York
state Department of Environmental Conservation protected site in
Kings Park.
Sam Zambuto, a spokesman for the LIRR, stated the reason for including
such areas.
“That’s a listing of land that could accommodate a
yard adjacent to the track because of its size and location,”
Zambuto said. “You look at everything that’s possible
and then see if it’s conceivable. [It’s] the very first
broad stroke of possible sites that would accommodate a 16-track
yard. And then all of those areas identified were checked if a particular,
obvious flaw would not make it a candidate for a yard.”
He elaborated further on the reasoning behind the initial inclusion
of high school athletic fields.
“When the sites are first determined by using aerial photography,
it showed areas where there are parcels of land that appear vacant
and of sufficient size and proximity to the railroad to be a site
considered,” Zambuto said. “In the cases of these three
sites and some further evaluation, what appeared to be vacant land
were school playing fields and therefore eliminated.”
Included in the remaining six sites were three around Pulaski Road,
Bread and Cheese Hollow Road (the eastern border of the Town of
Huntington and the Town of Smithtown), and Old Northport Road, an
area inside the land formerly occupied by Kings Park Psychiatric
Center, a vacant area near St. Catherine of Sienna Medical Center,
and an area adjacent to the New York State Armory, Manor Field Park,
and Huntington Commons Industrial Park in Huntington Station.
For an hour-and-a-half after the informational session, the crowd
of approximately 100 to 150 individuals and approximately 10 LIRR
and MTA officials collaborated in a public forum within the school’s
auditorium. Mark Sullivan, chief planning officer for the LIRR,
explained that the railroad needs a storage/maintenance facility
for electric trains somewhere on the eastern region of the Port
Jefferson line. Sullivan said that electrification reached the Huntington
station in 1970 and no facility was ever built to accommodate the
needs of such trains. He compared the current need for moving trains
from Queens to a location in Suffolk County to a homeowner wanting
to be able to park his or her car in their own garage as opposed
to having to walk several miles to get to it.
“Since the third rail reached there 30 years ago, no storage
facility has been built,” Sullivan said. He added that the
current practice of storing trains in Queens and sending them out
to Suffolk works, but is fragile with no room for expansion.
After Sullivan and a representative of the Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) spoke, individuals who had signed up at an outside table were
each given three minutes to voice their questions and concerns to
the officials. After the first speaker, the crowd let out a resounding
groan of disappointment when the officials stated they were simply
hearing concerns and would not be responding to them at the meeting.
A letter provided to this newspaper in advance of the scoping meeting
did state the second half of the meeting to be “a forum for
public comments,” rather than a question and answer period.
Larry Silverman, a former member of the LIRR Commuter Council,
brought numerous points to the attention of everyone in the auditorium.
He stated that it was unfortunate that so many opinions would not
be heard because disclosure of the potential sites did not occur
before the meeting. He made it known to any who didn’t already
understand that such a facility would be a 24-hour facility that
would bring light and noise pollution, traffic from employees and
shipping vehicles, and other impacts. Silverman alleged that placing
the facility farther away would cost the LIRR and MTA an additional
$10 million per mile, and suggested this was one reason they had
only limited areas to offer for consideration.
Michael Karp, an East Northport business owner and vice president
of the East Northport Chamber of Commerce pointed out that placing
the facility east of the Huntington station would require track
electrification to any stations west of that facility. He said that
if the Northport station became electrified, it could persuade commuters
from the Town of Smithtown to drive the short distance in order
to board an electrified train. This could leave the new Huntington
station garage underutilized and create a parking problem in East
Northport, he added. And because Smithtown residents would not be
able to park in the Town of Huntington-operated lots, their parked
automobiles would inevitably spill into nearby business lots, streets,
and residential areas, he said.
Commack resident Mark Serotoff said he obtained information concerning
the areas around the Huntington/Smithtown border, saying one of
them is designated as a Federal Superfund Cleanup site because it
was polluted with various chemicals. He provided the LIRR and MTA
officials with additional maps, reports, and photographs that he
obtained.
Various speakers also suggested that there are some 87 schools
in close proximity to the areas the LIRR and MTA are considering.
Some sites are within one to two miles of elementary schools.
The general consensus of many public speakers, including Huntington
councilmen Mark Cuthbertson and Mark Capodanno and Suffolk County
Legislator Jon Cooper, was that the LIRR and MTA should have made
more information available to the public, giving them more time
to formulate questions and opinions toward the potential sites.
When Cooper approached the microphone for his three-minute opportunity,
he stated the primary points that he felt the officials should know.
“At some point, you’re going to have to deal with the
public,” he said early on. He suggested that the LIRR and
MTA consider mailing postcards to each household in the areas affected
by these proposed sites. He said he understood this would cost money,
acknowledging “it would be a painful process for you short-term,
but it would be a benefit for this process long-term.”
“There are going to be many, many more informational sessions,”
Zambuto said. “This is a long process and this is the first
step. There will be other informational meetings and/or hearings
throughout the process. We felt it was a very constructive meeting
and it is the start of what will be a very aggressive public outreach
on this project.”