By Paul J. Condra
East Rockaway officials said they hoped to have a commercial traffic ban in place on Atlantic Avenue by April 1. According to East Rockaway Mayor Charles Formont, the restriction would make it illegal for trucks weighing more than 1,800 pounds to use the road unless they are making a local delivery. He said the law would be enforced for a six-month trial period.
But neighbors of East Rockaway are afraid limiting traffic on Atlantic Avenue -- a major artery connecting Sunrise Highway to the south shore -- would place undue burdens on their already congested streets.
"Those are roads that just can't take anymore traffic," said Nassau County Leg. Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside).
Toback said limiting commercial traffic on Atlantic Avenue would send heavy trucks to find alternate routes, most likely along Broadway in Lynbrook and Hewlett, and along Long Beach Road in Oceanside.
Further, Toback said because Oceanside and Hewlett aren't incorporated, they can't set village laws like East Rockaway or Rockville Centre, which has banned commercial traffic on Long Beach Road within the village.
"Those villages are doing what they should be doing [to ensure the quality of life for residents], but it hurts unincorporated areas," Toback said. "The Town of Hempstead has to step up."
But Toback is not exactly sure just how the Town would do such a thing. He said East Rockaway is within its rights to enact traffic restrictions on county roads if it chooses to do so, even if not everybody is happy about it.
"I believe that power should be vested in the county," said Jerry Lamonica, a resident of Oceanside, who owns a photography store in the heart of East Rockaway. Lamonica said Long Beach Road is in no need of more heavy traffic.
The ban on commercial traffic is an idea East Rockaway has been kicking around for some time, said Trustee Edward Sieban, who added the last public hearing on the issue was held in October of 2000.
Officials said the board is still waiting for input from Lynbrook and Rockville Center about the ban that would stretch from Union Avenue in Lynbrook to Main Street in East Rockaway.
"It's just a concept we've been trying to get a handle on," Sieban said, adding nothing is finalized at this point. But the trustee said he doesn't feel Atlantic Avenue is suited for heavy traffic.
The street is a two-lane, windy road that stretches past apartment buildings, a library, an elementary school in East Rockaway and a high school in Lynbrook.
"The trucks sometimes rattle the building," said Ellen Rockmuller, who works at the East Rockaway Public Library. She said while she hasn't noticed an excess of large vehicles, the congestion at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Main Street is a migraine headache on a regular basis.
Then there's the trucks that have to make their way to the sewage dump near Bay Park.
"Every once in a while one will go by and I can smell it," she said. "Especially in the spring."
The question for town and village planners now is, who will have to smell it next spring?
