The Village of Great Neck Plaza has been awarded $838,000 in federal funding to renovate bike and pedestrian pathways as part of a $5.1 million grant to improve Long Island roads and walkways, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week.
The $5.1 million grant is part of a $67 million initiative for enhancement projects throughout the state to help improve roads and walkways, the governor said.
“We are modernizing New York State’s transportation system while making it safer,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Village of Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said the funds will be spent on enhancements for Welwyn Road and Shorewood Drive, including brick walkways and raised cross walks to enhance pedestrian and biker safety.
Funds will also be allocated for LED streetlights and the planting of trees and shrubs, according to a statement.
“We’re very excited and very happy that we’ve been rewarded this program,” Celender said. “I want to thank our governor and our state representative for weighing in on this.”
State Assemblywoman Schimel hailed Celender’s vision for enhancing the roadways.
“As someone who advocated for this project, I am very pleased that the Village of Great Neck Plaza was awarded transportation enhancement funding to reconfigure the roadways, improve the streetscape amenities, and enhance the pedestrian crossings within the vicinity of Shoreward Drive and Welwyn Road,” Schimel said in a statement. “I applaud Mayor Jean Celender’s vision for revitalizing this area. These enhancements will make a marked improvement in pedestrian safety.”
Celender said the grant was opened to all of the municipalities on Long Island back in August. Great Neck Plaza was one of four Long Island villages to receive funding. The others were Freeport, Islip and Port Jefferson.
“We did have a consultant that assisted us, but I did have a very active role,” Celender said about the proposal.
Proposed construction on Welwyn/Shorewood would go to improving the flow of traffic for cars, pedestrians and bikers, Celender said.
“There’s a lot of congestion issues on that road. We need to improve the roadways there for safety issues,” she said.
This will be the sixth project Great Neck Plaza will undertake to improve their roads, Celender said. The others include construction on the roundabout by the railroad station, overhead speed limit signs and construction on the railroad platform to increase handicap accessibility.
“This [project] will make almost $4 million in enhancements. Not to say that there isn’t more work to be done,” she said.
Due to the presence of the railroad station, Celender said the construction projects benefits those who may not be from the village.
“We’re a hub and we serve the whole peninsula. It’s not just serving our village, it’s serving the whole community,” she said.
Any proposed construction will have to await pending contracts with state agencies and design concepts subject to public hearings, Celender said.
Ryan Lynch, associate director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said the level of funding was more than he expected, but said “it just remains a drop in the bucket.”
“There’s much more to be done on Long Island,” he said.“We have to continue to prioritize mobility options for people, slowing cars down as they come so people feel safe to walk and feel safe to bike there.”
Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) said he was pleased by the award.
“I am pleased this federal investment in Great Neck Plaza will help local businesses along with pedestrians and cyclists. As we focus on healthier lifestyles and more walkable downtowns, funding for improvements like these boost quality of life for residents and strengthen communities,” Israel said.
The funds for the project are made available through the Federal Highway Administration and are distributed by the state Department of Transportation, according to a statement.
“Our goal is to improve biking and pedestrian walkways in Long Island,” a DOT spokeswoman said about the projects.
