Pols, engineers clash over traffic lights

The federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is the bible for approval of any new stoplight, setting strict guidelines that must be met for installation.

Engineering, in other words, always trumps the emotions that come after a serious accident -- at least until lawmakers step in.

In Suffolk, the time-honored practice of legislators pitching traffic signals at constituents' request lately has sparked disagreements with public works professionals bound by the manual. A new signal can cost upward of $100,000, officials say.

The latest conflict came last month, when the legislature ordered a full stoplight at a Manorville intersection where a 23-year-old woman was killed in September, a month before a 30-year-old mother and her 7-year-old son died in a crash blocks away.

More time sought

Engineers had argued for more time to study the entire stretch of County Road 111, including where the light was proposed at Halsey Manor Road.

They noted that a previous review of the intersection showed a full light was unwarranted; a flashing yellow light already was there. Before installing a light, the department is required by law to do a traffic study to determine whether one or more of nine federal standards, such as vehicle volume, can be met.

But the Manorville sponsor -- who also earned a signal for a new Lowe's Home Improvement store in Riverhead, among others, over engineers' objections -- said common sense is sometimes needed in the face of labyrinthine federal traffic standards.

"Every one of those times, it's a no-brainer," said Legis. Edward Romaine (R-Center Moriches). "People say to me, 'My God, you mean to tell me they weren't going to put a light there?' "

Public Works Commissioner Gilbert Anderson acknowledged it's hard to sway residents spurred by tragedy.

He said his staff must follow the Federal Highway Administration guidelines, which consider crash history only in combination with other factors.

They include whether police enforcement has reduced collisions and whether traffic on the intersection's smaller street meets a certain volume threshold.

"It's hard to logically argue something as emotional as that," Anderson said of the meeting in December during which Manorville residents worried that halting the stoplight's installation could lead to another death.

"We don't like being in that position, having to make statements that make us look like bad guys."

Emotional appeals

Compared with the roughly 100 signal requests that Suffolk public works officials field annually without lawmaker input, instances of legislative intervention are rare. Typically, if a study shows a light is needed, a work order is cut to install it.

But by overriding their professionals, politicians show that passionate residents can have outsized sway, said a local government expert.

"The public official is kind of in a tough spot," said Rich Guardino, a Hofstra University administrator and former Hempstead Town supervisor. "They try to exercise restraint, but there are unique circumstances when public outcry is just so strong, you want to take the measure."

At the December meeting over the Manorville light, resident Jonathan Cohen told lawmakers, "Every once in a while, it takes a tragedy to remind us of something that's been in front of us all along." Last week, he said crossing County Road 111 had "become a game of Frogger."

"There are certain cases where you have to look at an intersection from human eyes," said Cohen, 33. "Maybe only a few hundred cars cross, and it's not the numbers they [engineers] want. But for those families, it makes a difference."

In Nassau County, lawmakers say stoplight debates take place behind-the-scenes: if public works deems one unnecessary, they'll wait, and then request another study.

Legis. Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury), who has secured numerous traffic signals in her district, said muscling the measures through by resolution appeared to be unique to Suffolk.

"I've never seen a traffic signal come before the legislature, much less one disputed by public works," she said. "The truth of the matter is we all have to look at the limit of our expertise."

Mom leads campaign

Don't tell that to Jean Anson. For years, the Yaphank mother unsuccessfully lobbied Suffolk officials for a stoplight at County Road 21 and Rustic Road, where she has lived for 21 years.

The last straw for her was learning that Longwood school officials weren't allowing buses to turn left from Rustic Road onto County Road 21, a decision that added an hour to her kids' route.

Public works officials consistently said the intersection didn't carry required traffic volumes, so in 2009, Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley) proposed installing the light and the legislature agreed.

"They kept saying, 'There's not enough cross traffic,' " Anson, 49, said of engineers. "But the frustrating thing is that we weren't arguing that at all. We were just saying it was a very dangerous situation."

Anderson said he understood the residents' concerns, but that his staff also had to consider whether a signal would create more of a safety issue, or whether other alternatives wouldn't be just as effective.

"We bend as much as we can to make those warrants fit the situation," he said. "When horrible things happen, we don't want to see them happen again."

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