Sunday, May 18, 2025
Amid growing concerns from Long Island residents about dangerous road conditions, a coalition of lawmakers, law enforcement officials and safety advocates gathered to demand urgent action following a sharp increase in fatal crashes on local roadways.
Representative Laura Gillen stood alongside Assemblywomen Michaelle Solages and Judy Griffin to announce a sweeping road safety strategy for some of the most dangerous roadways, including Sunrise Highway and the Southern State Parkway.
“The sudden rise in the deadly accident on Long Island streets and roadways is deeply alarming and demands action,” Gillen said at an April 11 news conference.
Gillen called for specific infrastructure upgrades, including the construction of more roundabouts on highways and parkways to reduce intersection fatalities, and targeted improvements to high-risk roads like Sunrise Highway and the Southern State Parkway to make it safer for drivers and passengers. The goal, as Griffin said, is to “improve roadways and save lives.”
“I’m tired of seeing another roadside memorial,” Solages said on the matter. “We’re looking at the memorial of a life that we lost due to traffic safety issues that exist on Long Island.”
Gillen also voiced support for bipartisan legislation to boost staffing and funding for small and mid-sized police departments, and urged New York State to increase the number of state troopers patrolling Long Island as a “deterrent” for risky behaviors like drag racing that are seen on highways and parkways. The goal, as Griffin said, is to “improve roadways and save lives.”
In addition to federal action, Gillen, along with support from Griffin and Solages, is pushing for the state to lower the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers from 0.08 to 0.05. She pointed to Utah’s success with a similar law, which led to a nearly 20 percent drop in fatal crashes after its enactment in 2018.
To move forward, Gillen said she submitted a letter to the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy last month urging an investigation into the spike in traffic fatalities. She also will be reaching out to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves to work on getting a hearing on roadway safety as Congress begins negotiating the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill.
“As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has authority over our nation's roadways and bridges, I'm proud to advocate on behalf of Long Island drivers, passengers and pedestrians to make all those safer for all,” she said.
Joining the lawmakers was Chief Brian Paladino of the Lynbrook Police Department, who spoke to the efforts of law enforcement in curbing reckless driving amid staffing shortages and shrinking budgets. He cited the three E’s of traffic safety: education, engineering and enforcement. The Lynbrook department, along with others, he said, are constantly working with the government to implement these principles and have found success.
“We’ve found this success with being out there, being visible and enforcement,” he said.
Cindy Brown, executive director of the New York Coalition for Transportation Safety, and Marge Lee, president of Dedicated to Long Island and a decades-long advocate against impaired driving, also spoke at the news conference to highlight the need for infrastructure that protects pedestrians and cyclists as well to ensure that these “preventable” and “avoidable” accidents, as Lee said, don’t happen as often.
