By JEFF LIPTON
Three decades ago, her husband was a passenger in a car that took a curve above the speed limit and crashed. He was killed instantly.
Now help is on the way for the accident-plagued boulevard. According to county officials, construction of a median will start immediately after Labor Day, which, they said, should succeed in slowing drivers down.
"I’m so excited," said Pisacano-Brown, a Point Lookout resident who has been calling for enhanced safety measures on Lido Boulevard. "I’m thrilled. I waited a long time for this. I’ve written letters. This is the first time I’m actually seeing something done, and it’s wonderful."
Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford (R-Long Beach) explained that the median will be installed on a mile-long stretch of Lido Boulevard, from Maple Boulevard to Prescott Street. According to Ray Ribeiro, commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Public Works, the roughly $3 million project will be completed sometime before Memorial Day 2009.
With three lanes in each direction, Lido Boulevard has a wide-open feel, and drivers often exceed the 40 mph speed limit by 15 mph or more, speeds that officials contend are much too fast for a road that curves through a residential area.
"Speeding has always been a concern for people in that area," said Ford. "I’m looking forward to the completion of this project.
"People look at Lido Boulevard as a long roadway with no interruptions," Ford added. "It gives you the feeling that you’re on a highway. When you put up a median, it divides it and makes it look smaller, and motorists get the feeling that they have to slow down."
Electronic signs along the route inform drivers of their speeds, but many officials feel that is not enough. "Sometimes people think it’s a game," said Ford. "The bottom line is that drivers have to realize that there are no speedways on the barrier island.”
Pisacano-Brown has been a resident for some 50 years, and has seen many accidents on Lido Boulevard. "I’ve seen too many accidents," she said, "and the reason for the accidents happening [is] people are going too fast."
Memories of that horrific crash came rushing back to her on July 19, when she said she witnessed an accident in about the same spot, in which a 2006 Hyundai went out of control near Regent Drive in Lido Beach, slammed into a telephone pole and overturned. The driver, Jesse Gardner, 25, of South Hempstead, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after he refused to take a breath test at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, according to a 4th Precinct police report.
After witnessing the accident, Pisacano-Brown wrote a letter to the Herald, stating, "For the life of me, I cannot comprehend how it has been for 30 years now, that I, like so many others, continue to watch and witness the horrific and often deadly automobile accidents that continue to plague this road —accidents that are often related to speeding."
After writing the letter, Pisacano-Brown got word of the upcoming construction project. "This is a step in the right direction," she said. "This is a physical obstacle [to speeding].”
She said that the pain she still feels from the loss of her husband "is devastating and won’t go away. I don’t want to have to see other people suffer like I have."
Commissioner Ribeiro said that during construction, the boulevard’s left lanes, both eastbound and westbound, will be closed, but at least one lane will be open in both directions at all times. He said the project was finalized months ago in the county’s 2008 capital budget plan, which was approved by the Legislature. But county officials delayed construction so that it would not disrupt traffic on the barrier island during the beach season.
Pisacano-Brown called the construction a "short-term issue with a long-term resolution. Even with the inconveniences, if it saves lives it will be well worth it," she said.
The concrete median will be low enough so that fire trucks will be able to drive over it in an emergency, county officials said. Additional traffic lights, walk signs and left-turn lanes will be part of the project. Plants will be added along the median, which will be similar to a curb, about six inches high, with a brick imprint on the concrete.
"One reason that people tend to drive faster [on Lido Boulevard] is that the road is generally straight and wide open," said Ribeiro. "It’s a long and straight roadway with not a lot of obstruction, and people tend to drive at a faster rate. People drive at a speed that they are comfortable with."
Ribeiro said the median is the result of many years of studies on ways to improve safety on the road. "We will make every effort to minimize the impact," he said. "We will do most of the work and lane closures during off-peak hours."
Ford explained that a letter would be sent to barrier island residents alerting them about possible inconveniences during their commutes along the boulevard. "I’m sure I’ll get a lot of complaints while we go through this construction," said Ford, who added that she has been searching for ways to reduce speed on the road. "We will work to minimize the inconveniences, and we ask for patience during the construction period."
Police officials said they have tried to crack down on speeders and thus reduce the number of accidents. "There are incidents of speeding, and we have enforcement measures in place in addition to our regular patrols," said Deputy Inspector Kenneth Hettler of the 4th Precinct. "The median is well-received in reducing speed. The experts tell us it will help. I hope it works.
"All of our officers actively enforce [the speed limit]," Hettler said, adding that two units patrol one stretch of Lido Boulevard. "Enforcement leads to education, which helps reduce accidents."
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
