Nassau to install flashing warnings at school-zone speed camera locations

Nassau County will install new signs with flashing lights in 56 school zones eligible for speed cameras, shelving a nearly $7 million plan to place the warning signs outside all 434 public and private schools.

The $1 million project will be funded through Nassau's Community Revitalization Program, which allocates money to individual county legislators for projects in their districts.

The move by County Executive Edward Mangano's administration to install new warning signs -- though in fewer numbers than he originally wanted -- is a response to mounting complaints from motorists about insufficient warning about school-zone speed limits and the presence of the cameras.

It also represents the latest twist in a long-running dispute over how to pay for the signage. The county legislature's Republican majority suggested tapping the Community Revitalization Program after Democrats in September blocked a proposal from Mangano, a Republican, to borrow $6.5 million to install the signs at every school, regardless of whether they have cameras.

Each of the 56 camera sites -- one per public school district -- should have the signs up by early next year, said Chief Deputy County Executive Rob Walker. Greenman-Pedersen Inc., of Babylon, will design the signs at a cost of $100,000; two construction firms already under county contracts will handle installation at a cost of $900,000, Walker said.

The new signs feature large blinking lights that notify motorists of the reduced posted speed limit. They are designed to supplement smaller signs that now alert drivers to the presence of speed cameras.

"This gives greater awareness," Walker said of the flashing signs. "We want residents to slow down. Hopefully now they'll have no excuse not to."

Nassau expects the speed cameras to raise $30 million a year, but county officials have consistently said their primary purpose is to promote safety. Violations carry $80 in fines and fees, and many motorists have reported receiving 10 or 12 tickets before realizing that cameras were in place.

Legislative Democrats have called for the camera program to be shut down, citing insufficient and inconsistent warning signs at many schools. They've called for the flashing lights but say they should be funded with speed-camera revenue.

"While we're happy to hear the administration is finally listening to us . . . we can't help but raise why this has taken so long," Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) said.

Also Thursday, a Long Beach law firm filed suit to remove the speed cameras outside Lido Elementary School after its attorneys and paralegals ran up $1,200 in violations there between late October and early November. The suit, which argues that signage is inadequate and few children cross Lido Boulevard at the site, appears to be the first directed at the county's camera program.

The suit against Nassau County was filed in State Supreme Court in Mineola by the Long Beach firm of Elovich & Adell on behalf of five firm members who got a combined 15 violations from the cameras.

The suit calls the cameras an "illegal speed trap," a "de facto tax" and a "naked money grab for a cash-strapped county," and seeks refunds of all fines.

County Attorney Carnell Foskey replied: "It's sad that these attorneys and paralegals don't know the law of our state and filed a frivolous lawsuit after having put residents in danger by speeding in a school zone."

The school is located down a nearly quarter-mile long driveway off Lido Boulevard. The suit says children rarely cross the six-lane road.

The suit also contends that signage in the area is confusing and insufficient. For example, markings on the pavement alert motorists to a 20 mph school-zone speed limit. But two blocks east, markings on the pavement list the school-zone speed limit at 30 mph.

The suit also cites a lack of warning lights and said signs alerting motorists to the cameras are on a roadway curve and difficult to spot.