Talking traffic

If you’ve ever driven, walked, biked or ridden a bus on Grand Avenue, chances are you’ve experienced heavy traffic, hairy left turns, tough parallel parking or high-stress intersection crossings.

Those are the experiences that Nassau County Department of Public Works employees want to hear about on Feb. 24, at Baldwin High School, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the department’s public outreach meeting, where the focus will be on the ongoing Complete Streets Traffic Study of the 1.4-mile stretch of Grand Avenue from Merrick Road to Stanton Avenue.

The study began in November, according to Mary Studdert, an NCDPW spokeswoman, and will wrap up this summer. In 2013, the county selected Baldwin as one of three South Shore communities to be subjects of the federally funded Infill Redevelopment Study, which explored ways to promote development surrounding Long Island Rail Road stations. Following that study, months of feedback from community members and input from the Baldwin Civic Association, which partnered with the county on the project, a traffic study was born.

The county hired LiRo Group, an engineering company with offices in Syosset, to conduct the study, which is examining ways to increase walking opportunities, improve pedestrian safety and foster an attractive environment for businesses and residents. The idea is to make the roadway a “complete street,” Sean Sallie, a senior county planner, told the BCA last year, which accommodates all users, including drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians and mass transit riders.

BCA President Karen Montalbano said that traffic in the area had increased significantly since she grew up in Baldwin. Now she doesn’t take her bike or walk as often as she’d like. “Crossing the intersection of Grand and Merrick can be challenging at times,” she noted of one of the community’s busy intersections. “Am I going to be hit by that right-turning car that may not see me?”

It was clear, Studdert said, during the Infill Study process that community members wanted to improve Grand Avenue. “The community clearly stated its goal to transform the corridor into a mixed-use downtown,” she said, “and improvements to walkability would be a large step forward in achieving this goal.”