Dangerous Roads newsletter: Blizzard adds to LI street hazards

Throughout the historic blizzard that hit our region over the last couple days, everywhere I turned there were officials telling drivers to stay off the roads if at all possible. But it’s tough to stick to that advice when your job is to report on transportation on Long Island.

And so, after hours of digging my 2015 Honda Odyssey out of my driveway, I ventured out around 10 p.m. Monday to see for myself what the roads looked like, and to buy a dozen eggs from the nearest 7-Eleven. Almost immediately, I second-guessed my decision.

Despite Village of Valley Stream plows being out all day, Merrick Road was awash with a thick coating of slush that covered up all road markings and made it impossible for my tires to keep a grip, as it did for the few other cars on the road. Pedestrians, unable to traverse unshoveled sidewalks, walked in the middle of the road, perilously close to moving cars, including my own. Massive snow-clearing vehicles got in my way, and I got in theirs.

It was one of the most anxiety-inducing trips I’ve made in a while. And the 7-Eleven is less than a half-mile from my house.

Despite my family’s breakfast preferences, my trip was hardly necessary. But the same can’t be said for the many Long Islanders whose jobs have kept them from staying off the roads over the last couple days, including the young men who sold me those eggs.

As we were all reminded during the COVID-19 pandemic, essential workers are required to brave even the toughest conditions to perform their duties, even if it means hitting the roads during a travel ban, as was in place in both Nassau and Suffolk on Monday.

"Stay off the roads and don't put firefighters and emergency workers in a dangerous situation having to come rescue you," the Nassau fire marshal said in a posting Monday morning.

Even with most roads as empty as they’ve been in years, Nassau police reported 167 crashes between Sunday at 9 a.m. and Tuesday at 5 a.m. Suffolk police reported 269 crashes between 11 a.m. Sunday and 11:30 p.m.

As Newsday has reported at length over the last year, even in the best of conditions, Long Island’s roads can be uniquely dangerous to traverse. Add to that one of the most brutal winter storms we’ve seen in more than a decade, and you quickly understand why it’s so important to heed the warning of those telling you to stay off the roads, and stay out of the way of those who can’t.

Readers speak up

This week's email comes from a mother concerned not only about the road conditions she sees through her car windows, but what she smells seeping through them — marijuana. 

I have three small children, and they can't drive in the car on any road on Long Island without the overwhelming stench coming through the car vents as we drive. ... It is not OK to drive like this. The police do nothing. And our poor children, and even ourselves, deserve to drive to school, the doctor and events without smelling what used to be a drug. ... We taught our children to stay away from marijuana and we used to go to jail for this stuff. Now we can tell them it’s OK to drive high?

Danielle Castellano, Centereach

How do you think the legalization of cannabis has impacted road safety on Long Island? Let us know at roads@newsday.com

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.