By VICTORIA A. CARUSO
Residents complain they can't cross thoroughfare without having to dash
Sunrise Highway is big -- six lanes big. Cars drive fast along the thoroughfare -- 50, 60, even 70 mph fast. So, crossing the road on foot represents an often precarious venture for pedestrians, especially the elderly, residents say.
That is why the state Department of Transportation will study traffic on the Sunrise over the next three months. Its aim is to determine whether pedestrians need more time to cross the highway before the lights change. Specifically, engineers will look at Sunrise and Merrick and Hewlett Avenues. Study results are expected in early June.
Residents have complained recently that they have trouble getting across the Sunrise before cars start moving in their direction.
State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. (R-Merrick) arranged a Feb. 1 meeting at his Freeport office between residents and DOT representatives, giving Merokeans the chance to sound their concerns. Included in that meeting were Barry Fox, the Merrick Park Home Owners Association co-president, and David McDonough, Merrick revitalization liaison.
McDonough said, "Barry [Fox] has been getting complaints from residents in his area about the timing of the traffic signal, and the issue has come up at several [Merrick Chamber of Commerce] meetings."
Martin Valk, a Merrick Woods resident, said, "The way the timing mechanism works, there isn't enough time to cross. It is difficult for individuals in considerably reasonable health and parents with strollers to cross."
Valk, a member of the Merrick School Board, also worries about the many young children who must cross the Sunrise daily to get to school or the Merrick Library on Merrick Avenue.
Right now, pedestrians must walk about 100 feet at three feet per second to cross the Sunrise when east-west traffic is stopped for a red light.
Patricia Audinot, assistant to the DOT's regional director, said, "Pedestrians crossing over Sunrise at Merrick Avenue have 35 seconds to walk, and those crossing at Hewlett have 31 seconds."
Audinot also said the time usually allotted to cross a road as wide as the Sunrise is four feet per second. In that case, pedestrians would get 45 seconds at Merrick Avenue and 41 at Hewlett.
Pedestrians receive more time to cross the Sunrise when they push the signal button at the intersection corner. When pressed, the button extends the red light slightly, giving pedestrians a few extra seconds to get across the Sunrise.
Fox, the civic activist, suggests that the DOT install new buttons along the Sunrise at Merrick and Hewlett Avenues that are larger, softer and more visible.
The DOT is also considering installing an overhead infrared detection system at both intersections. With the system, the red-light cycle would automatically be extended when a pedestrian enters either intersection. Body heat would activate the system.
Fox said an infrared detector would benefit members of the Orthodox Jewish community who, owing to religious obligations, cannot push the signal button during the Sabbath. Merrick would be the first town on Long Island to have the infrared system, if it is installed.
Whether Merrick can have the timing of its Sunrise lights lengthened remains to be seen. "When you change one timing, it affects everything down the line," said Audinot of the DOT. "We will have to look at the number of pedestrians crossing and the number of vehicles per minute that cross the intersection in all directions."
Audinot also said that the DOT will review a history of accidents along the Sunrise in Merrick. The state Department of Motor Vehicles will compile the history.
There are no crossing guards on duty on the Sunrise at Merrick and Hewlett Avenues. So, Fox also wants the DOT to limit motorists from making right turns on red at these locations.
"There are kids crossing the street, and people are cutting in front of them to turn," he said. "Eliminating or reducing the times people can turn on red would be safer for pedestrians."
