Hempstead Turnpike declared ‘dangerous’

For the past four years, leaders in Elmont and Franklin Square have been working to revitalize Hempstead Turnpike, and a recent study by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign has shown more evidence of the turnpike’s need for a makeover.

For the third consecutive year, the 16-mile corridor of Route 24 from Elmont to Farmingdale has been rated the most dangerous road in the tristate area by the Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit organization that focuses on reducing car dependency. The organization’s statistics were released on Feb. 9, and the study analyzed data on fatal pedestrian crashes from the National Highway Safety Administration in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

An average of 415 pedestrians are killed in downstate New York, New Jersey and Connecticut each year. According to the Transportation Campaign’s statistics, between 2007 and 2009, more pedestrians — 12 — were killed along Hempstead Turnpike in accidents involving motorists than on any other tristate area road. The study concluded that “high travel speeds” — the road’s speed limit is 40 mph — leave drivers little time to react to pedestrians in the roadway. The study identified roads with at least two lanes of traffic in each direction and speed limits of at least 40 mph as the most dangerous for pedestrians.

State Assemblyman Ed Ra, a Republican from Franklin Square, said he believes the turnpike is much safer during the day, when there is heavy traffic and vehicles are forced to drive at or near the speed limit. In the lighter traffic at night, Ra explained, drivers tend to exceed the speed limit.

He said he believes many people do not feel safe walking to stores along the road, and this perception is hurting businesses on and around Hempstead Turnpike. “They are scared to cross our major roadways here, whether it’s crossing near Meacham Avenue or farther down Hempstead Turnpike,” Ra said. “I think businesses function best when people can park their car and just walk there. It doesn’t help the people and the businesses if they don’t feel safe doing that, and it makes it a less attractive place if you’re trying to start a business.”

Ra said he believes the work the Elmont Coalition for Sustainable Development has done in planning the revitalization of Hempstead Turnpike, outlined in the Elmont Community Vision Plan, could help alleviate some of the road’s safety issues. The Vision Plan, which is currently being reviewed and edited by the Town of Hempstead, includes provisions to spur business development along the turnpike, which would likely create more pedestrian activity and reduce vehicle traffic on Elmont’s portion of the road, Ra said.

“The coalition has done a lot of work on this, has really made sure they’ve gotten a lot of input from the community, and they’ve done a great job figuring out what the community wants to see and what their needs are,” he said. “The Town of Hempstead is working on this and has gotten recommendations from the community. I think there are areas here that can handle different types of development … and I’ve been working with them, and I’m going to continue to make sure that these goals are realized.”

Muzzio Tallini, an Elmont resident and the owner of Signature Homes Ltd., said he believes that allowing mixed-use development along Hempstead Turnpike would create a denser environment, which would make the road safer. The Town of Hempstead does not currently permit a mix of residential and commercial properties on the road.

“Studies have proven that cars slow down when they are in denser environments,” Tallini said. “When business is sprawled out, cars speed. You need to have more activity on the street, small streets and more parking on the street, and the cars will slow down. Any transportation or smart-growth advocate will tell you that.”

Ra agreed that additional parking would likely make the road safer, and said that the Town of Hempstead would be considering how to add parking as it evaluates the Community Vision Plan.

In addition to the coalition’s efforts, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, in collaboration with the American Association of Retired Persons, recently initiated legislation, the “Complete Streets” bill, which could help make Hempstead Turnpike safer. Nadine Lemmon, the Transportation Campaign’s Albany legislative advocate, said that the bill, which was introduced in the Senate last year, would establish new guidelines for road construction and reconstruction to ensure that pedestrians are taken into consideration.

“This basically says they need to take into account the use of all road users,” Lemmon said, adding that the intent of the bill is to make it safer for pedestrians to cross the street in New York hamlets. Current road designs are based on a 1950s model, she explained, which focuses narrowly on how quickly cars can get through an area, not who might be using the street.

The bill could help spur the creation of bike lanes, narrower roads, countdown clocks connected to streetlights, and brighter paint on crosswalks for pedestrians statewide.

“The best practices would work within the existing roads,” Lemmon said. “The ticket is to try to make sure cars are slowed down, and we think that’s particularly relevant for Long Island. You want people to get out of their cars, you want them to walk to businesses, and if they don’t feel safe walking in their neighborhoods, then they’re going to go to more expensive areas.”

She said that bill, which was recently re-introduced, was passed by the Senate last year with “flying colors,” but did not make it out of the Assembly before the session ended. It is supported by organizations including Vision Long Island, the AARP, the Elmont Coalition for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Long Island.

Comments about this story? JNash@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 214.