Traffic light coming to Edward Avenue in Woodmere

A stretch of Peninsula Boulevard in Woodmere that has been the scene of five fatal vehicular accidents in less than 2½ years is targeted for a traffic signal at the road’s intersection with Edward Avenue, an area that could be nicknamed “Death alley.”

The most recent fatality occurred last Dec. 11, at the corner where the traffic light will be installed. Two vehicles collided that night, and Liel Namdar, 15, a sophomore at Torah Academy for Girls In Far Rockaway, was killed.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said that a comprehensive traffic study was conducted recently and as a result, the county Department of Public Works will install a traffic signal. It will cost roughly $120,000, and is expected to be operational later this spring, county officials said.

Blakeman, who also said that he asked the Nassau County Police Department to step up enforcement in the area, listed the reasons the traffic light is needed.

“Number one, there is so much pedestrian traffic on Peninsula Boulevard, and it’s a four-lane highway,” he said. “It’s not a road, it’s a highway, so I just made a determination that I wanted traffic engineering to take another look at it in light of the fact that we have so many trucks that travel that route, and we just had an overturned truck a mile and a half away from where the traffic signal is going to go up. Traffic engineering concurred with me that it was prudent to put a traffic signal up.”

Of the five people killed on Peninsula since November 2019, two have been pedestrians. Young Israel of Woodmere is located at the intersection of Peninsula and Longacre Avenue, and many people walk across the heavily trafficked roadway on their way to or from the synagogue.

On Dec. 30, 2019, Woodmere resident Stewart Hecht was struck and killed by a vehicle at the intersection of Edward and Peninsula. On Sept. 1, Tobias Levkovich, also of Woodmere, was killed when he was hit by a car as he crossed Peninsula between Island and Longacre avenues.

“Needed for a time,” Woodmere resident Joel Harris said of the coming traffic signal in a Facebook post in response to a Herald question seeking reaction. “Bad sight line to the left, speeding traffic in both directions. I live locally and detour to Howard Avenue to enter Peninsula Blvd., in either direction.”

The two other fatal accidents were roughly three months apart. Keith Bailey, of Queens Village, a passenger in a small truck, was killed in a one-vehicle crash on Peninsula Boulevard on Nov. 19, 2019, and a man died in a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Lafayette Drive and Peninsula on Feb. 21, 2020.

“I’ve spoken with members of the community numerous times who were begging, begging for some action,” County Legislator Howard Kopel, a Republican who represents Woodmere, said. “The previous administration didn’t find it necessary. That is dumbfounding considering all the deaths and other accidents. So I’m extremely gratified and grateful that it’s finally getting taken care of, and the needs of the community were taken seriously.”

Melanie Kail, a resident of Woodmere and a Woodmere Fire District commissioner, created a petition on Change.org after Hecht was killed demanding a traffic light at the intersection of Edward and Peninsula. As of press time, more than 50,000 people had put their names on the petition.

“This highly traffic thoroughfare had long posed a hazard to pedestrians,” County Legislator Denise Ford, who represents a portion of Woodmere, said in a statement. She called the coming traffic light a “much-need improvement,” that “will enhance safety for our Five Towns residents.”

Have an opinion on traffic on Peninsula Boulevard or any other location in the Five Towns? Send a letter to jbessen@liherald.com.

Reflects correction of Young Israel of Woodmere location.