Officials from Temple Sinai and Temple Beth Sholom joined the East Williston Board of Education last week in expressing concern about to the proposed changes to traffic patterns on Roslyn Road — including the narrowing of the roadway from four lanes to two from the south service road of the Long Island Expressway to south of I.U. Willets Road.
“It doesn’t seem to me that the traffic pattern will ever allow that part of the road to be narrowed,” said Jonathan Cheris, president of Temple Sinai Roslyn. “You could never have two lanes based upon the volume of traffic.”
Cheis, a resident of the Village of East Hills, said that while he has not received enough information about all the changes, Temple Sinai is opposed to narrowing Roslyn Road.
“We haven’t seen any studies or specifics,” he said. “We are against any changes until we are engaged. I’m deeply concerned that there would be this proposal out there without engaging (the Temple.) How dare there be something out there without engaging us. I have a big problem with that.”
Michael Koblenz, a Temple Sinai Board member who is also the Mayor of the Village of East Hills, said he agreed with Cheris’ opposition to the changes.
“We know that they want to narrow the road and create traffic jams,” Koblenz said. “Especially during rush hours when the temple has Hebrew School.”
Pearl Halegua, resident of Temple Beth Sholom, said that if Roslyn Road is narrowed to one lane, turning in and out of Temple Beth Sholom “will (take) twice as long.”
“During rush hour Roslyn Road is pretty insane to begin with,” Halegua said. “Whatever (traffic) was taking up two lanes is going to take up one lane. Making (Roslyn Road) one lane is going to cause quite a lot of congestion.”
Halegua said she is also concerned when people slow down to enter the temple during Hebrew school drop off.
“(Having) one lane will take longer (for those cars) to funnel in,” Halegua said.
Both Temple Sinai and Temple Beth Shalom are located along the stretch of Rolsyn Road that would be narrowed as a result of the proposed changes.
Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs said last week that the county Department of Public Works planned to present a plan to the county Legislature’s Rules Committee on Nov. 16 that calls for the reduction of lanes on Roslyn Road, the elimination of a cutoff onto Locust Lane and the installation of a traffic light at the intersection of Roslyn Road and Locust Lane.
Town and county officials have been seeking to improve safety on Roslyn Road following a series of accidents on the stretch of the roadway from the south Service Road to south of I.U. Willets.
In March 2014, Mineola teenagers Steven Clancy and Javier Gonzalez, both 19, were killed when they drove through the fence and into the backyard of the home of Dr. Ronald Rosen, 66 Oak Lane in Roslyn Heights.
The teenagers hit a tree and were killed as they were ejected from their 2004 Volkswagen Jetta.
Less than a month later, in April 2014, 43-year-old Facundo R. Ponce died when he lost control of his 2006 Dodge Dakota pickup truck and crashed into a charter bus near the corner of Roslyn Road and Heathcote Drive.
The accident injured the bus driver and a passenger.
In mid October 2013, a motorist who was allegedly inebriated crashed through side fence of Rosen’s home and totaled a car parked in the driveway.
Both Cheris and Koblenz said that they have spoken to Jacobs regarding their opposition to narrowing the roadway.
After expressing concerns about the changes at a meeting last week, members of the East Williston Board of Education wrote a letter to Jacobs Wednesday, calling for the county to present the study of traffic patterns that led to the proposal that Roslyn Road be narrowed before any changes are made.
“We have numerous bus stops on Roslyn Road in the area in question and the Board would like to further understand the traffic volume during the hours of a school day, in order to fully understand what kind of traffic back-ups there will be as a result of buses making numerous stops and starts along a proposed one lane in each direction (on) Roslyn Road,” the board said in a one-page letter signed by President Mark Kamberg and the other four school trustees.
The East Williston school trustees said they believed lesser changes could alleviate the problem.
“It is our belief that some simple changes could go a long way to improve the road, without causing the possibility of traffic back-ups and crowded road conditions for the district school buses and residents,” the letter said.
In their letter, the trustees did agree with plans to elimination the cutoff — or fork in the road — at the intersection of Roslyn Road and Locust Lane and the installation of a traffic light.
“This will not only slow traffic, but it will stop it on what will now be red, yellow and green lights,” the trustees said.
A link to the letter is displayed on the board’s web page on the East Williston Union Free School District’s web site.
The school trustees decided to write the letter after discussion arose about the proposed changes to Roslyn Road at their meeting earlier in the week.
Discussion of the county’s proposed changes to Roslyn Road was not originally on the meeting’s agenda, but Kamberg wanted to open the meeting to discussions of student safety.
He said traffic already backs up on Roslyn Road between Jericho Turnpike and I. U. Willets Road, and may only worsen with the extension of the single lane further down the road.
Jacobs, who said she received the letter via e-mail on Wednesday afternoon, sent a response to the board stating that Roslyn Road had not been called as an item at the meeting of the Nassau County Legislature on Oct. 29 as expected because of the previously scheduled budget hearing that took place.
Instead, Jacobs said, it will be called on Nov. 16, at a full meeting of the Rules Committee.
Jacobs said she plans to use the time between now and Nov. 16 to listen to concerns from the community.
“(I) welcome input from anyone who has anything to say,” Jacobs said. “I’ll be able to have these next two weeks to answer questions and get feedback.”
Jacobs said she received clarification from the chief engineer of the project that the width of Rolsyn Road will remain the same.
“The lane marking will show one lane but a very large shoulder on shoulder on each side, and, where needed, a turn lane,” Jacobs said in an email response to the board. “Therefore, if anything, it will be safer for buses to pull over to the shoulder to pick up and drop off the children.”
But, in another email response to the board, Jacobs said that the markings on Roslyn Road will be changing.
“The road will look exactly the same,” Jacobs said. “The difference will be how the lines are drawn.”
Through a third email response to the board, Jacobs said that the board’s concerns will be presented to the Department of Public Works.
“This initial contract is in the first phase to allow design to begin,” Jacobs said. “I have been reassured by (the Department of Public Works), that all concerns will be a part of their negotiations. I will be certain to present your concerns to them.”
Mary Studdert, a county Department of Public Works spokesperson, said that the department “just selected” a firm to design plans for Roslyn Road.
“We are currently processing the agreement and it still needs to be approved by Legislature,” Studdert said.
Studdert said the name of the firm chosen to design plans for Roslyn Road can not be released until it is also approved the Legislature.
In spite of all the opposition she is facing, Jacobs said, she remains optimistic that safety will ultimately prevail.
“I believe the end result will be a much safer roadway,” she said.
