By:Nick Buglione
Although the new route has not yet been finalized, Ted Bial, the marathon's race director, said the 26.2-mile race will still start and finish in Eisenhower Park, but snake around thoroughfares in East Meadow, Uniondale, Westbury, Salisbury and Garden City, eliminating the lengthy trip down the Wantagh.
It's hoped that moving the May marathon off the parkway and onto local streets will increase public interest in the race, Bial said. "We're trying to put it on more local streets, not really residential streets, so we can get more of the public out there to cheer the runners," he said. "This is a good thing for Nassau County -- we want this to be a good thing."
At the height of its popularity, the marathon attracted as many as 10,000 runners, and officials are looking to get those numbers back up, Bial said.
Citing safety, traffic and sanitation concerns, East Meadow civic leaders are afraid the new route will create a logistical nightmare. "We have traffic up the ying-yang," said Helen Meittinis, president of the Community Association of Stewart Avenue, which covers neighborhoods in Salisbury. "There are many other communities that would have less safety concerns."
Closing off streets and restricting access to the nearby Nassau University Medical Center are among the top fears, Meittinis said.
While the new route will likely include major arteries like Salisbury Park Drive and Hempstead Turnpike, which both lead to the hospital, Bial said they would only be closed in one direction and for a limited time. He also noted that since the race will be on Sunday, traffic problems should be minimal.
"Egress or ingress is not going to be impacted," said Nassau County Legislator Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow), who has followed marathon developments closely. "This is not impacting on the hospital."
Each year the marathon has, however, had an impact on NUMC, since it forces the closure of Carman Avenue, said Shelley Lotenberg, NUMC spokeswoman.
The old route of the annual race, which also features a 13.1-mile half marathon, started in Eisenhower Park and led runners down East Meadow Avenue to North Jerusalem Avenue and then Newbridge Road. Competitors took Newbridge Road all the way south to Sunrise Highway, where they got on the Wantagh Parkway and headed north.
Getting off at Old Country Road, runners turned back onto the parkway, headed south to Sunrise Highway. They then turned north again on the Wantagh to Salisbury Park Drive, connecting to Carman Avenue and running back into Eisenhower Park.
"We got lots of complaints that the parkway was boring to run on," said Bial, explaining this year's shift. "It wasn't spectator-friendly."
Last year's marathon had about 4,800 registered runners, and civic leaders are worried about the mess runners and spectators are going to leave behind on their streets. "There'll be garbage strewn all over the streets," Meittinis said.
The marathon, however, has garbage teams that clean up at each of its water stations, Bial said.
Civic leaders have also complained that they've been kept in the dark about the marathon's new format. "If you are going to do something that impacts the community, why not have a meeting with the civic leaders?" said Richard Cardozo, president of the Carman Community Association.
It's still unclear when the new route will be finalized, though marathon officials and Nassau County police have been working together to come up with the best plan. "We want to try and keep it as contained as possible," Bial said.
