Valley Stream village, county officials pressed for traffic signal

Local elected officials are responding to a petition and calls for a traffic control device at the corner of Rockaway and Dubois avenues in Valley Stream, following an accident on May 24 in which a 27-year-old was killed when his motorcycle colliding with an SUV.

According to the Nassau County police, Jason Rosenbaum was riding his 2006 Harley-Davidson south on Rockaway Avenue when he collided with a 2012 Honda SUV driven by an unidentified 55-year-old man. Rosenbaum was thrown from his bike, and was rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, where he was pronounced dead three hours later. An 82-year-old woman who was riding in the front seat of the SUV suffered head injuries in the crash, but was in stable condition.

Valley Stream Mayor Ed Fare sent a letter to County Legislator William Gaylor on May 31, requesting that the county study the intersection and then recommend to the village board of trustees the best option for controlling traffic in the area.

“In light of this recent fatality, we have reached out to our county legislator, Bill Gaylor, to request assistance in installation of a traffic signal at an appropriate point along Rockaway Avenue, or permission from the county to install stop signs along its jurisdiction,” Fare said in a statement that was posted on the village’s website on May 31. “The board of trustees supports the residents’ concerns for traffic safety throughout the village and will remain attentive to this pressing matter.”

Gaylor said he supported the initiative, and called on the county’s Traffic and Engineering Department to conduct a study and put up temporary traffic control devices while the study is being completed.

“I want some kind of traffic-control device because it’s a highly trafficked roadway,” Gaylor said, “and people are flying through the intersection.”

The closest traffic light is 0.2 miles to the east of the intersection, at the corner of Horton and Rockaway Avenues. Another traffic light is about a half-mile west, at the corner of Roosevelt and Rockaway avenues. About one mile north, a flashing yellow light can be found on Rockaway.

“That whole length, there’s nothing to stop people from doing whatever speed they want,” said Erica Arzano, who lives on Dubois Avenue.

“With the cars speeding constantly, you have to kind of creep out to get past the bushes to see if people are speeding,” added Michelle Simmons, who lives on Locust Street. “It’s a terrible, terrible intersection.”

Simmons said she tries to avoid that intersection, and suggested that Nassau County, which owns Rockaway Avenue, put up a four-way stop sign or a speed bump.

Another resident, Mateusz Podgorczyk, who lives on Miriam Street, agreed. “Put a light there, something there to not have any accidents,” he said.

All three residents also said that other collisions have occurred at the intersection in recent years.