Petition to East Rockaway village officials seeks to make Marion Street a one-way road

As of June 11, more than 100 people had signed an online petition urging East Rockaway officials to make Marion Street a one-way road for traffic between Irving Place and Waverly Avenue from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.

Though Marion Street is in the Lynbrook School District, the road is under jurisdiction from East Rockaway officials. 
The petition, which was created by Marion Street Elementary School officials, argues that, “this would prevent cars from turning from Waverly Avenue onto Marion Street, thus decreasing the incidence of accident or injury.”
Ivy Reilly, a mother of two students at the school, said she is in favor of the petition because she serves on the Compact Committee, which controls traffic in the morning when students are entering the school building.
“We’re all playing traffic cop,” she said of the members of the committee, adding that the “cars are jumping around.”

Principal Terry Macchia further said that traffic safety has been a concern for school officials for several years, and added that making Marion Street a one-way road during the school day “would be safer for our students who are dropped off on Marion Street at the start of the school day.”
The online petition comes one year after the East Rockaway board of trustees turned down a written request from school officials to change the regulations on the street. This year, school administrators have written signatures as well as those signed electronically on the online petition, according to Macchia.
In an emailed statement to the Herald, Mayor Bruno Romano said that the village has received the request and that the board would discuss the issue at its meeting on June 13, after the Herald went to press.
To sign or learn more about the petition, visit www.change.org/p/village-of-east-rockaway-make-marion-street-a-one-way-on-school-days.