Rte. 25 deaths spark call for improvements

The lives of Lavena Sipes of Smithtown and Barbara Gallagher of Kings Park -- strangers until Tuesday -- are intertwined at the intersection of Main Street and Lawrence Avenue in downtown Smithtown.

It was there in November 2009 that Sipes' 11-year-old daughter, Courtney, was killed by a hit-and-run driver. And it was there in February that Gallagher's son-in-law, Seamus Byrne, 33, of Smithtown, died when he was struck by a car.

And at the same intersection last Thursday, two Central Islip sisters were injured when they were struck as they crossed Main Street.

Lavena Sipes said the accident brought back the bitter emotions caused by her daughter's death.

"Every time something like this happens, it does anger us," Sipes said, referring to herself and her husband, Tracy.

She and Gallagher had not met until Tuesday, when both spoke about safety on Main Street at a meeting of the Smithtown Town Board.

With several supporters, Sipes and Gallagher implored Smithtown town officials to find new ways to make Main Street safer for pedestrians and drivers. Three pedestrians in the past 18 months died after being struck there: Charles Doonan, 65, of Flushing, died in August from injuries suffered when he was hit near the intersection in January 2010.

Even before last week's accident, state, county and town officials had been discussing ways to make the road safer. But those efforts have hit a bureaucratic bottleneck. Smithtown and Suffolk County officials say they support calls to narrow the four-lane road to one lane in each direction. But they say they can't do anything because Main Street is a state highway -- officially, state Routes 25 and 25A.

Prompted by Courtney Sipes' death, the state Department of Transportation made a host of safety improvements, including new traffic signals and a fence to encourage pedestrians to use marked crosswalks.

State officials, however, say rebuilding the road would take too much time and cost too much money, especially when the state is strapped for cash. Assemb. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-St. James), noting that the current reconstruction of Route 347, just two miles south of downtown Smithtown, was 15 years in the planning stages, said revamping Route 25 would require years of study.

"I don't see that happening anytime soon," he said.

Eileen Peters, a DOT spokeswoman, said the new signals and fence should improve safety, though drivers and pedestrians might need more time to get used to them.

"We believe that these measures are or should be effective," Peters said. "We hope that people will abide by them so that people realize their effectiveness."

Lavena Sipes and Gallagher applauded the safety measures but said they don't go far enough. "It's not the real change they need to fix the problem," Sipes said.

Gallagher added: "It's like a Band-Aid."

Proposed changes