Town officials and Drucker back traffic light on Roslyn Road

Max Zahn
A memorial at the intersection of Roslyn Road and Locust Lane, where two 19-year-olds were killed in 2014 when their vehicle ran off the road.

North Hempstead Town Councilman Peter Zuckerman said last Tuesday that he and Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth oppose a lane reduction but support a new traffic light on a dangerous stretch of Roslyn Road between Locust Lane and I.U. Willets Road.

“The area is a big safety concern,” Zuckerman said. “The community is against a reduction of lanes; it’s in favor of a traffic light.”

The proposed traffic light would be located at the corner of Roslyn Road and Locust Lane.

On Jan. 23, Zuckerman explained the town’s position to Nassau County Legislator Arnold Drucker, who has vowed to take all necessary action to ensure the safety of drivers on the Roslyn Heights road.    

Less than a week before his meeting with Zuckerman, Drucker expressed reservations to Blank Slate Media about a lane reduction and the installation of a traffic light.

“There are two schools of thought with the traffic light,” he said. “Some when you see  the red light up ahead you’ll come to a stop. But many times a stop light up ahead turns to yellow and some ill-advised drivers step on the gas pedal rather than brake. Instead of going at a steady speed OK to navigate the turn, they hit the gas pedal and then they’re in real danger.”

On Friday, Drucker said he now supports the installation of a traffic light.

“The most effective improvement that can be made would be the installation of a traffic light,” he said.

He said “99 percent of drivers” would abide by the traffic light.

“When I expressed concern about people speeding up when the light turns yellow, it’s something you hope doesn’t happen but should be under consideration,” he added.

He said the traffic light is better than  a lane reduction, which “would be inordinately expensive and would create further traffic distress on Roslyn Road.”

Over the summer the county hired Nelson & Pope, an architecture and engineering firm, to develop a plan. Drucker said he has yet to see the plan.

The dangerous stretch of Roslyn Road became a central concern for Drucker’s predecessor, Judy Jacobs, in 2014 after two fatal accidents occurred on the road within a month of each other. Jacobs died due to complications related to cancer last September.

In March 2014, two 19-year-olds, Steven Clancy and Javier Gonzalez, were killed when their vehicle veered off Roslyn Road by the intersection of Locust Lane and went through the fence of an adjacent property.

In April of that year,  Facundo R. Ponce, 43, was killed when he lost control of his car and crashed into a charter bus on Roslyn Road near Heathcote Drive.

Drucker said he will hold a meeting with Zuckerman and Bosworth about the issue in early March. He then plans to assemble a public forum in either late March or April.

He did not say when a solution might be implemented, but said he would “push to have it done as soon as possible.”

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