Speeding mars Salisbury Park Drive

Salisbury Park Drive is a well-traveled, three-mile-long street that runs from Old Country Road to Newbridge Road. Hundreds of cars zip around the curved residential street — where the speed limit is 30 miles per hour — to avoid Hempstead Turnpike on the way home from work or on the way to the Roosevelt Field Mall. The speeds at which too many drivers travel have residents concerned about their safety.

“No one drives 30,” said Salisbury Park Drive resident Barbara Ann Cast, who moved into her home in 1993. “Look at that,” she said, pointing to cars driving by. “They’re probably going 45, maybe 40. They’re certainly not going 30.”

Cast said the average speed a driver travels is probably between 45 and 50 mph, and she has seen others who appear to be going faster than 60. “You could stand right here and do your whole report,” she said. A sensor can be seen from her home that indicates cars regularly exceeding the speed limit.

“It’s crazy,” 20-year resident Conacettina DeGuida said about the speeding. “I have kids and it’s not good, it’s not good at all.” DeGuida explained that during rush hour, the traffic backs up and drivers can’t speed, but during the day and in nice weather, there are countless speeders. “I have no idea what they’re thinking,” she said. “People should respect a little bit.”

Manny Baltazar, who has lived on Salisbury Park Drive for 19 years, said the road has become a shortcut. “Carmen Avenue and Stewart Avenue are supposed to be the main roads,” he said. “This is a drive, not an avenue.” He added that cars parked on the street are in the most danger from drivers making illegal U-turns, and said he recently had to replace his car’s rear bumper after it was damaged by a driver doing just that.

DeGuida said he doesn’t know what can be done to reduce the speeding, but she added, “I hope someone does something.” Baltazar said he thinks the best option would be to put an end to two-way traffic. “If they could use this as a one-way, it would benefit the neighborhood,” he said. “I don’t care if I have to go all the way around as long as it makes it safer.”

Cast said that adding streetlights — or, more preferably, stop signs — would help, but she would also like more of a police presence. Officers diligently distribute tickets every two or three months, she said, and when they come, “they’ll sit here and give out tickets every five minutes.” According to the Nassau County Police Department, 41 speeding tickets were issued on Salisbury Park Drive between January 2011 and February 2012.

On the afternoon of Feb. 10, two cars crashed near Mellow Lane. A Corvette came to a stop halfway up the sidewalk, with its driver’s-side door and hood detached. A dark gray Cadillac sustained significantly less damage, but glass and car parts littered the street as police conducted an investigation. Both drivers were taken to Nassau University Medical Center and were expected to be fine, police said on the day of the accident.

Statistics from the 3rd Precinct indicate that 31 accidents were reported between January 2011 and February 2012 on Salisbury Park Drive alone.