LI road's dangerous reputation has residents calling for change
Calls for increased security on dangerous LI road
There are calls for change on a dangerous stretch of Mineola Avenue in Roslyn on Long Island. The road is surrounded by schools and has been the site of dozens of accidents over the years, and now neighbors are calling on the county to fix it before tragedy strikes again.
LONG ISLAND - For many Long Island commuters, Mineola Avenue is a convenient pass-through between several major highways.
However, Roslyn residents like Saul Klein call it a dangerous speed trap.
"There’s a tremendous amount of traffic on Mineola Avenue from Northern Blvd. all the way down to the Northern State," Klein says.
They say the largest area of concern is a small stretch of road between Warner Ave. and Northern Blvd. devoid of traffic lights, signage, or crosswalks.
To add insult to injury, they say blind curves pose a threat to drivers, pedestrians, and even school kids who attend a local day camp.
A resident provided FOX 5 NY with information obtained through a FOIL request that shows more than one hundred accidents with over thirty injuries on a 0.8 mile stretch of Mineola Ave. in the past four years.
The Nassau County Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unity did not respond to our request for confirmation.
"People have been complaining about this for decades, and yet the accidents continue to pile up," Klein adds.
That’s why more than six hundred neighbors have signed a petition demanding immediate action.
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Local leaders, including Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan, followed up with a town hall zoom meeting and then sent a letter straight to County Executive Laura Curran’s office.
"In that letter, we demanded from the County Executive’s office a light between Warner and Pine to slow the traffic, perhaps more police presence to pull over speeding drivers, signage as well," Lafazan tells Fox 5 News.
The Nassau County Department of Public Works says it’ll review accident data, conduct a speed and traffic signal study, and determine if— and where— left-turn arrows may be necessary.
Those studies will take between eight and ten weeks to complete but Lafazan plans to meet with county officials as soon as next week.