Another Baldwin study planned

Planners will take a fresh look at Baldwin’s main commercial district in early 2016 with the goals of redeveloping it, improving traffic and drainage and finding a sustainable strategy for attracting new businesses.

The Baldwin committee of the New York Rising reconstruction program this month asked planners and consultants to bid on a project to outline a future for Baldwin, said David Viana, one of the co-chairs of the Baldwin panel.

The study will focus on Grand Avenue, from the Southern State Parkway to Merrick Road. A traffic component of the study will analyze the section of the street from the Southern State south to Stanton Avenue. Another traffic study, currently underway, is examining Grand from Stanton south to Merrick Road.

The funding allocated for the project totals $800,000, in the form of a community development block grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to New York Rising. Any money left over from the study would be used to implement the proposed solutions, Viana said.

The analysis is expected to start in December or January and be completed by next November. Sean Sallie, lead planner for the Nassau Department of Public Works’ Planning Division, said that besides traffic, it will encompass several other issues, including zoning, housing, and emergency and critical infrastructures.

Sallie stressed that community input would be a major component of the project, and explained that New York Rising decided to take a look at the area of Grand north of Stanton when community members questioned why the current study stopped there.

While the impetus for the study was the one-two punch of Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, Sallie said the project would not be limited to storm recovery. Rather, he said, the focus would widened to economic resiliency and rebounding after a disaster.

According to Viana, the winning bidder will have a number of tasks. Among them:

* Identifying the amount of land that is re-developable in the commercial corridor, and creating plans for multi-family housing and mixed-use development on vacant or underused lots.

* A financial analysis for new mixed-use development along Grand Avenue near the Long Island Rail Road Station.

* Identifying ways to improve traffic around the station.

* Finding ways to improve storm water management and implement green infrastructure along commercial thoroughfares.

* Identifying street improvements that will emphasize storm resiliency and recovery.

* Assessing local and regional market trends to identify a sustainable strategy for attracting and keeping neighborhood businesses.

“It’s been a long time coming, and we now have the means and resources to do it,” Viana said. “This will hopefully be a guidebook for how we go ahead with the community.”