Amityville one-way signs need enforcing

You can't miss the signs at the west end of Cedar Street in Amityville: One Way. Do Not Enter. And a big white arrow on the pavement -- which, if you turn onto Cedar from County Line Road, is pointing straight at you.

But those warnings aren't proving to be much of a deterrent to drivers using Cedar as a short cut.

Kenneth Wysowski, who lives on Cedar, said he and neighbors have pleaded with, shouted at and stared down drivers as they head the wrong way past their houses. "I'm looking at them, they're looking at me," he said, but the drivers disregard his pleas.

Making it worse is speed, which Wysowski attributes to the effort to get past the one-way section of Cedar quickly -- before village police take notice of the wrong-way driving. The one-way designation, which the Village Board put into place five years ago, applies only to the narrow western end of the street.

Wysowski said he asked the village if a patrol car could be stationed on the street or a camera installed that could identify offenders. But with municipal finances stretched thin, he learned out that additional spending is unlikely.

Though the village police force can't dedicate a patrol car to the street full time, Police Chief Donald Dobby told Watchdog he will arrange for officers to monitor the area. And he added that the village has no reports of accidents on that stretch of Cedar in the past year.

Just to be clear: Wysowski endorses the 2007 decision to eliminate two-way traffic, calling it "the best thing that ever happened . . . It has cut down on the immense traffic" on his street. The change was prompted by the volume of two-way traffic on the narrow street.

Today, Wysowski is pleading for enforcement. He pointed to the danger that wrong-way drivers pose to children in the neighborhood, vehicles backing out of driveways and to drivers turning onto Cedar from a nearby side street, Oldfield.

The potential for harm became clear during a recent Watchdog visit: Turning onto Cedar from Oldfield was an inch-by-inch maneuver necessary because the view around the corner is blocked by a hedge.

Luckily, no wrong-way drivers were heading my way.

-- JUDY CARTWRIGHT

Need for light near Hempstead school

After recent columns about nonworking streetlights along three roadways, Long Islanders have pointed out even more areas of darkness. This week we will look at one site that stands out from the rest because it's far from a major roadway.

Near the Barack Obama Elementary School on William Street in Hempstead, one light has been out on a side street. But sometimes, one light can make a difference.

Light "can be a good deterrent," said neighborhood resident Fred Cuba.

The streetlight is on Dikeman Street, which intersects William Street a block from the school. Cuba told Watchdog that the light went dark a few months ago and, during that time, the site became a gathering place after dark.

A call to Hempstead Village Hall got a promise of action. "I'll take care of it," said Deputy Mayor Henry Conyers said.

Last week Conyers said that a village crew had gone to the neighborhood and repaired not just one streetlight but a second nearby that was also found to be dark.

-- JUDY CARTWRIGHT

Central Islip gets all-way stop sign

An all-way stop is coming soon to a busy school intersection in Central Islip.

In August, we wrote about resident Nick Spinell and his concerns about dangerous conditions on Cordello Avenue at the intersection with Clift Street, which borders Cordello Avenue Elementary School. He said many drivers use the half-mile-long Cordello as an alternative to the busier Carleton Avenue (County Road 17), which it parallels, and there are no stop signs on Cordello south of the school.

After our inquiry, the Town of Islip conducted a traffic study and now says the intersection is being turned into an all-way stop this month.

"Our findings indicated that a significant percentage of motorists were found to ignore our 'School Speed 20 mph' signs," the town reported in the study. "Many young students walk alongside this road while on route to/from school, so we felt extra caution was needed."

In addition to the all-way stop, the traffic study said an additional speed limit sign would be installed on Cordello. When Spinell learned of the news, he sent us an email that began: "Excellent!"

Town of Islip residents with traffic safety concerns on town roads should call 631-224-5610.

-- MICHAEL R. EBERT