Village of Valley Stream mulls fencing along two steep thoroughfares

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The village’s traffic committee recently submitted a recommendation for prohibitive pedestrian fencing at Hicks Street and South Franklin Avenue, to give pedestrians a logical place to cross and deter cars from stopping to drop off passengers.

Fencing was recommended for the east and west sides of the sidewalks, where the two parallel streets meet the train tracks.

“People get dropped off there every day and there’s so many chances of an accident,” said Bob Fumagalli, the deputy village clerk.

In their recommendation, the traffic committee suggested fencing similar to that of the Rockville Centre train station, to guide pedestrians to a safe place to cross.

At the March 27 work session meeting, the board of trustees discussed the suggestion favorably — trading anecdotal stories as evidence of the problematic crossing.

Mayor Ed Fare questioned the logistics of installing safety fencing. “How do we fund them, who puts them in and what’s our liability?” Fare asked the board of trustees.

Fare wondered if the village could request that the state include such safety measures in its planned revamp of the Valley Stream Long Island Railroad Station, which Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo discussed in his annual Long Island regional State of the State address on Jan. 10. Among other projects, he proposed investing $5 million to upgrade the Valley Stream Long Island Rail Road station.

The planned upgrades will include a new platform and waiting areas, LED lighting, Wi-Fi, charging stations, digital information kiosks and public artwork displays.

A decision on the fencing was postponed for further discussion.