Traffic lights being upgraded on Mill Road, Central Avenue

Nassau County is updating its traffic signals in several areas, including Valley Stream. More than a dozen traffic lights at numerous intersections on Central Avenue and Mill Road are being replaced, according to county officials.

The signals are being replaced with newer equipment that can run on the county’s computerized traffic signal control system. “As part of the project, the signals will be connected to the Traffic Management Center in Westbury using a fiber optic cable,” said Michael Martino, a spokesman for Nassau County. “This allows for coordination of the traffic signals as well as an ability to adjust traffic signal timing as needed from Westbury, resulting in a decrease in vehicle emissions, and a reduction in vehicular congestion.”

Martino added that the project’s purpose would be to upgrade and maximize the efficiency of traffic lights. The new technology, he said, would improve a light’s visibility for drivers and pedestrians. Also, it would help to save money. “Rebuilding these traffic signals allows us to replace signal indicators with new low-energy usage LED lights,” he said, “which lower the county’s annual energy and maintenance costs.”

The project is expected to cost between $2 and $4 million, according to report by the Nassau/Suffolk Transportation Coordinating Committee. Work began several weeks ago, according to Valley Stream Village Clerk Bob Barra.

The county was awarded a grant to change traffic lights from 8-inch bulbs to 10-inch bulbs, according to county Legislator Francis Becker, who represents most of the village. “It will make for safer roads,” he said.

Legislator Howard Kopel, who represents South Valley Stream, said he welcomes the improvement. “Mill Road was a choke point for evacuation in the event of an emergency, and the work had to be done,” he said. “It had to be done, and hopefully it will be done quickly.”

However, construction was causing some problems for some drivers.

Marc Tenzer, president of the Mill Brook Civil Association, noted some of the inconveniences. “A lot of people can get a flat tire with the holes in the street,” he said. “There are big gaps…I slow down in my car (to go over them) and people honk.”

He is surprised there have been no accidents yet, he said, and he wants the project to be finished already.

Driver Daniel Caracciolo said the construction was not really affecting his traveling.

According to Martino, several publications covered the LED initiative for the traffic lights, and there was public notifications sent out related to the bidding process. This is the only traffic signal project slated for Valley Stream, Martino added.