Austin Boulevard needs a median now

Two weeks ago, a pedestrian died on Austin Boulevard. His name was Michael Fenwick. He was just 33, and he wasn’t the first to die there.

Austin Boulevard has claimed many lives over the years — pedestrians struck by cars and drivers getting into accidents. And countless people have been injured in the dozens of accidents on the road every year.

The problem is the thoroughfare itself, a six-lane, 1½-mile straightway with eight sets of traffic lights. The speed limit is 40 mph. There are plenty of streets to turn onto from Austin Boulevard, and many of them require making a left turn across lanes of traffic with no light at the intersection — just one of the problems that cause accidents.

At the behest of the Island Park Civic Association, Nassau County funded a year-long traffic study of the road. It was billed by Legislator Denise Ford as the first step in the process of having a median built along the boulevard. According to Ford’s office, the results of the study will be presented to the public in November.

It is our sincere hope that the study recommends the addition of a median and other safety measures to reduce the number of accidents — and needless deaths — along the notorious road.

Not only would a median beautify a street that no one would describe as attractive, it would also stop drivers from making left turns where there are no lights.

We also encourage the county to reduce the speed limit. As county officials themselves have acknowledged at public meetings in Island Park, if you want a driver to go 40 mph, you make the speed limit 30. Which implies that the county knows drivers are going 50 mph or more down Austin Boulevard.

There also need to be more police patrols on the road. If officers crack down on speeding there, issuing tickets every day, drivers will soon learn that they must slow down. A police presence would be an effective deterrent.

By making Austin Boulevard safer, we can go a long way toward reducing the number of fatal accidents there to zero. It’s up to the county now, and we can only hope that officials will do what’s right to save lives.