Residents want to make Main Street safer

Hal Tarry of Smithtown generally favors roundabouts, believing they help traffic move quickly and safely.

He's just not sure they would work on Main Street in his hometown. "Not with the amount of traffic we get," Tarry said.

He was among more than 100 people who crowded into Smithtown's historic Brush Barn on Friday afternoon for a community meeting to discuss ideas, including roundabouts, that might improve pedestrian safety on Main Street.

The road, which serves 33,000 vehicles a day, has been the scene of three pedestrian fatalities in three years.

Efforts to revamp Main Street gained steam after the deaths of Courtney Sipes, 11, of Smithtown; Charles Doonan, 65, of Flushing, and Seamus Byrne, 33, of Smithtown.

State Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald announced Friday that Main Street renovations, including the creation of a median and turning lane by eliminating one of the street's two westbound lanes, would start by the end of April. The road is part of state routes 25 and 25A.

"These improvements will increase walkability in downtown Smithtown, calm traffic and provide greater protection for pedestrians," McDonald said in a news release.

But an engineering study commissioned by AARP criticized the state plan and called for building as many as five roundabouts, installing raised medians and redirecting traffic to other roads.

State officials have said roundabouts and other changes would be considered if the current plan fails.

Friday's meeting, sponsored by AARP, Vision Long Island, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the Courtney Sipes Foundation, was intended to drum up support for roundabouts.

After the meeting, 27 participants cast votes in favor of roundabouts, and 15 said they were opposed, organizers said. Another 13 people, including Tarry, were undecided.

"I'm not sure there's really going to be gaps" in traffic allowing pedestrians to safely cross the street, said Tarry, 58.

Organizers of the meeting asked residents to keep an open mind about ideas such as roundabouts. Assemb. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-St. James) said he was a "huge fan" of them.

"It has been proven that they do work," he said.

Joseph M. Pilny, 74, of St. James, was unswayed. He said seniors find traffic circles difficult.

"If you have an elderly population, they're going to be very confused going through there," he said.