67.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Austin Blvd. no safer now
County adds temporary speed limit signs
Austin Boulevard, in Island Park, is a six-lane Nassau County road, running north-south through Barnum Island, that is known for speeding and accidents. Between June 13 and 21, that section of road saw more than a half dozen auto accidents, two of which sent people to hospitals. There is an average of more than one death per year on the street, according to county figures.
Island Park residents and businesses have been trying to make the road safer for decades. The county has conducted no fewer than five traffic studies, and a few changes have been made. If a pedestrian pushes the button for a “walk” light, it now allows more time to cross the street. A traffic light has been installed at the corner of Kingston and Austin boulevards. There are no left turns allowed on either side of Austin where there are no signals to stop oncoming traffic. These stopgap measures have done little to help. Meanwhile residents continue to call and write letters asking the county Legislature to act.
Motorists ignore posted speed limits and make U-turns just about anywhere on that stretch of road. Island Park has only one police officer assigned to the entire area by day and another at night, so enforcement of the current laws is almost non existent residents say.
County Legislator Denise Ford requested that mobile speed limit signs be placed on the road to remind beach-goers of the speed limits after learning of the accidents last week. A spokeswoman for Ford’s office said the signs are only temporary, because the county uses them at a variety of events, but Ford is hoping they stay most of the summer. One is on the median outside Peter’s Clam Bar, displaying the posted 30 mph limit for the road in that area. The other is at the Long Beach-Island Park border, just north of the Long Beach Bridge, and displays a speed limit of 40 mph.
Ford has told the Island Park Civic Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Business and Residential Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club and other organizations that plans have been approved and money has been found for real improvements. Yellow painted medians to limit the number of U-turns, “bump-outs” on corners to help pedestrians trying to cross the street (and motorists trying to park and get out of their cars without getting hit), improved traffic flow and changes in traffic lights are some of the improvements that are scheduled to be made. They are on hold, however, Ford said, while the federal government studies traffic light synchronization. Once again, Island Park faces another delay.
