Arguments go both ways on William Street

The issue of widening William Street — which runs from Mulry Lane to Central Avenue, a block east of Rockaway Turnpike — and making it a two-way street remains a subject of contention among Lawrence village board members and Central Avenue business owners. The plan to limit congestion on the road seems to have led to more consternation among those who must decide the matter.

Some residents and business people say they don’t think the village’s plan to widen the roadway to 21.3 feet and add more signage will help reduce traffic congestion on neighboring streets, such as Washington Avenue, or increase pedestrian and motorist safety on William and Central, which were the reasons for the project. Left turns onto Central Avenue would be prohibited, but right turns would be permitted, as they are now.

The five-member Lawrence board voted 3-2 last July to approve the approximately $35,000 project to widen the street, but since then there has been a battle at nearly every village meeting between residents and the board — and even among the trustees — over the plan.

“It is very frustrating for two reasons,” said Trustee Michael Fragin, one of the three board members who voted to approve the plan. “The administration flouts the direction of the board of trustees and the issue has overtaken every other, and more important items are not getting the attention they need.”

Deputy Mayor Joel Mael and Trustee Edward I. Klar also supported the project, while Mayor Martin Oliner and Trustee C. Simon Felder opposed it.

“It is physically impossible — you can’t widen the street enough for two cars to pass,” said Oliner, adding that he believes it is his job to ensure the safety of village residents.

Following an initial traffic study, Melville-based Cameron Engineering issued a second report that includes a recommendation to install a stop sign at the south end of William Street, where it meets Central Avenue. A two-foot-wide stop line would be painted on the roadway to supplement the sign.

The report recommended eliminating two parking spaces at the northeast corner of the Central Avenue-William Street intersection would help southbound motorists see westbound traffic. It also suggests prohibiting trucks from entering William Street from Central Avenue, because their wide turns would encroach on the southbound lane. Despite the proposed widening, the road would remain narrower near the municipal parking lot on the west side of William. Because of that, the Cameron report recommended that a “road narrows” sign be installed.

“Cameron Engineering added specific suggestions,” Mael said at the Feb. 9 board meeting. “They should be included into the work already approved. The best option is to add signage.”

But Lydia Ciotti and Howard Kris, whose businesses are located on the northwest and northeast corners of Central Avenue and William Street, respectively, said they don’t like the plan, and want the village to keep William Street a one-way road.

“Two-way traffic is no good for us, no good for the residents. I want it to remain the same,” said Ciotti, who has worked in the area for the past 26 years. Her Horizon Thrift Shop has been in its current location for 11 years, and she was on the opposite corner for 15 years, operating a thrift store for the American Cancer Society. “It is too narrow of a street to have two-way traffic — there is not much of a sidewalk,” said Kris, whose optical shop Look ‘N’ See has been at the northeast corner of Central and William for eight years. “There’s not enough room for trucks to maneuver, and they want to cut congestion on Washington. I don’t see it.”

Hope Nathan, who lives at 360 Central Ave., near William Street, said she is angry at the board for not listening to residents and acting as if the project won’t affect anyone. “I am very disappointed. You are making a mockery of the situation,” she said, when members of the board bargued at the Feb. 9 meeting. “There is a building involved, a group of older people.” A village board meeting was scheduled for March 1, at 8 p.m., in Village Hall.