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Fast Forward: Will Route 25A Keep Its Curves?

By Sylvia Adcock | Staff Writer

Hundreds of years have passed since the first roadways were cleared on Long Island. And we're still fighting over them.

Today, the focus is on the increased development that widened roads bring. Neighborhood activists have learned that a new or widened road can bring more cars, more noise and more development.

Which in turn bring more cars and more noise.

"Roads will absolutely define the community that they go through," said Jean Thatcher, president of Concerned Citizens for 25A, a North Shore group.

In recent years, Route 25A has been the focus of battles between neighborhood activists and the state Department of Transportation, which plans to rebuild part of that road in Cold Spring Harbor.

"They'd like to have all the little curves straightened out," said Barbara van Lieu, a St. James historian who wants to protect Route 25A. "You'd just lose the whole ambience of the area."

The state says the changes are needed for safety reasons.

Construction in the Cold Spring Harbor area is to begin in early 1998, but residents continue to battle to stop the changes. Stay tuned.