Russell Gardens lowers speed limit, eyes LED lighting

Janelle Clausen
Deputy Mayor David Miller discussed speed limits, smoke detectors, LED lights and other topics at Russell Gardens' Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday night. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)
Deputy Mayor David Miller discussed speed limits, smoke detectors, LED lights and other topics at Russell Gardens' Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday night. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)

Village of Russell Gardens trustees voted to lower the town’s speed limit from 30 to 25 miles per hour on Thursday night, while also entertaining the idea of replacing its approximately 100 lights with light emitting diode – or LED – bulbs.

Deputy Mayor David Miller cited possible safety benefits from lowering the speed limit, as well as wanting to avoid getting large 30 mile per hour signs from the state.

“So as a practical matter, we’re going to lower our speed limit to 25 miles an hour so we can establish the size of our own street signs. That’s pretty much the reason we’re doing it,” Miller said. “But there’s some little obvious safety factor.”

Trustees also voted to authorize the New York Power Authority to conduct a study relating to the conversion of the village’s street lights to LED in two parts, for a cost not to exceed $10,000. The study would geo-locate all the village’s lights and survey where lighting falls short in the area.

Trustee Martin Adickman said the village had spoken with RealTerm Energy, which had done the light replacement for the Village of Great Neck. But then the New York Power Authority arose as an option and he found them more trustworthy, he said.

“They’re a trusting party,” Adickman said. “Their goal is no more than to save the state energy.”

Trustees also said that the village could possibly “piggyback on bigger projects” NYPA is doing and utilize the lights in other ways, perhaps by adding cameras or Wi-Fi capability, but that nothing is finalized.

In unrelated business, Miller also explained that the village issued a summons against 180 South Middle Neck Road and 140 South Middle Neck Road over the pace of installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

“This is something that has been glacially slow and it has reached a point, in my opinion, that this is the safety of the residents at stake,” Miller said.

In unrelated business, trustees voted to authorize an emergency $35,000 repair by Fab-Tex of their 2003 International Truck. A similar truck would have gone for between $160,000 and $180,000, they said.

According to the village maintenance report, the dump truck is out for repairs to its dump body and salt conveyor system. This requires new steel replacement because of metal wear and rust on the chassis frame rails, the report says.

At the March 7 board meeting, trustees plan to take up a bill aiming to clarify requirements for parking in commercial spaces and say regulations will be “unequivocally enforced.”

“It’s really to clarify an almost grey area of the law,” Miller said.

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