Bike path coming to Merrick Avenue

Bicycling around central Nassau County will soon become a bit more convenient, as work is under way on a bike path along the east side of Merrick Avenue, bordering Eisenhower Park, that will connect two existing paths nearby.

The project is separate from the privately funded, 80,000-square-foot ice skating facility being built inside the park.

According to Mike Martino, the press secretary for the county’s Department of Public Works, work on the path began at the intersection of Merrick Avenue and Hempstead Turnpike in May. As the Herald went to press, the construction had already extended north to Merrick Avenue’s intersection with Stewart Avenue.

The purpose of the path, Martino said, is to further connect the Hempstead Turnpike mixed-use path — a state project — with the bicycle and pedestrian path on Charles Lindbergh and Earle Ovington Boulevards, built by the county in 2009.

The 1.2-mile-long path on the north side of Hempstead Turnpike extends from Oak Street, in Uniondale, to Merrick Avenue, in East Meadow. It was a State Department of Transportation project, built in 2008, and links Hofstra University, Eisenhower Park and the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The existing county path loops around the Coliseum, Mitchel Field and Museum Row. The two paths have just one connection, at the intersection of Hempstead Turnpike and Earle Ovington Boulevard. The Merrick Avenue path would give bikers another route to cross from one to the other.

County officials did not respond to inquiries about the project’s cost, but confirmed that it will be funded by the county. The construction is being done by Laser Industries, a Suffolk County-based development company.

Coordination between the county and state on bike and pedestrian paths is common, said Eileen Peters, a spokeswoman for the NYSDOT, adding that the two municipalities have a “very good working relationship.” She added, “Neither would be working separately on paths that would affect the other’s facilities.”