The New Hyde Park Board of Trustees is dealing with parking issues on Park Avenue, in addition to new traffic patterns developing as a result of the construction of a Covert Avenue underpass as part of the LIRR third track project.
Residents expressed concern Tuesday night at Village Hall over congestion and rerouting through the area, with navigational apps like Waze sending more cars down previously quiet roads.
Mayor Lawrence Montreuil listened to residents’ grievances following a public information session on the LIRR third track project last Thursday. He assured them that the board would continue to work with the MTA, LIRR, 3TC (third track contractors) and VERTEX, an engineering firm hired by the village, to alleviate residential concerns.
“There is plenty of collaboration going on,” Montreuil said. “Our own retained engineering firm has been invited to work with them on this project to ensure we’re accommodated.”
The village has retained VERTEX to review noise control, traffic plans, rodent control and related construction documents.
Utility relocation work at Covert Avenue has begun and will continue through January in preparation of the under-grade construction, slated to begin in February and continue for six months. The construction team has provided cones, flagmen and signs to minimize interruptions.
The excavation has raised concern among nearby residents about a possible problem with rodents.
“There has been some rodent control measures implemented,” village Trustee Rainer Burger said. “So we’ll check with them as to what exactly they did to combat that.”
In addition to the Covert Avenue construction, a road restoration project on South 9th Street and North 6th Street will be accepting bids in the coming weeks. This project comes as a result of a $897,000 grant secured by state Sen. Elaine Phillips in connection with negotiations on the third track project.
Phillips also secured a $250,000 system for award management (SAM) grant for the village. That money will fund an electronic parking meter system capable of accepting credit cards and pay-by-phone apps.
Parking on Park Avenue, as well as South 12th Street, is a continued concern of residents, who say stop signs are being obstructed and driveways are on occasion completely blocked by vehicles. Mayor Montreuil heard suggestions to implement nightly parking restrictions.
On Monday, the village will host a meeting of the Town-Village Aircraft Safety and Abatement Committee for the Town of Hempstead.
The Port Authority will be closing Runway 13L at John F. Kennedy Airport for nearly the next year. Aircraft are likely going to be diverted to 22L, the runway that aligns with New Hyde Park. The committee will address the effects of aircraft noise on residents’ health.
The board will meet again on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. in Village Hall.
