Clunker overstayed its welcome

A 1994 Saturn car has been parked for some time in front of a day care center on Dogwood Avenue in West Hempstead. I noticed it because it wasn't moved once during all the snowfall this past winter. The saying is: "If you see something, say something." I have called Nassau County police, but the car remains. I'm also worried the owner might be deceased and nobody realizes it.

-- Anthony Bilardello, Franklin Square

Sgt. Edward Grim of Nassau's Fifth Precinct said a police officer was immediately sent to the location earlier this month after our call and found the vehicle had a valid registration and was parked legally -- meaning the precinct had no lawful grounds to tow the car.

Officers went a step further by visiting the car's registered address. They didn't reach the owner during multiple visits, Grim said, but they left a note asking the car be moved "as a courtesy" since it had been parked in that spot for a while.

The owner called the precinct a few days later and said he would hire a tow truck to move the car, which he told police is not currently running. It was moved within 48 hours.

"It's not a unique problem," said Grim. "This does happen. Some people have clunkers."

Grim also noted that the car is registered to a Malverne address, which he said likely played a role in it being parked in West Hempstead since the Village of Malverne has some overnight parking restrictions.

Fifth Precinct residents with similar vehicle concerns can call the bureau at 516-573-6500.

MICHAEL R. EBERT

I was shocked when the Town of Smithtown posted its schedule for this year's roadwork and Estate Road was not on the list. The road has been in poor condition for several years and receives patch jobs instead of paving. There are families with young children that enjoy walking around the neighborhood, and it looks like they are walking through a minefield. It's only a matter of time before someone gets injured.

-- Paul Kiselewsky, Smithtown

You'll have to put up with the patchwork for one more year, Mr. Kiselewsky.

However, it's not because the condition of Estate Road isn't bad enough to warrant attention this year. Highway Superintendent Glenn Jorgensen said the town wants to first assess the condition of drainage pipes beneath the crossroad of Tanglewood Drive to avoid the wasted costs of possibly having to tear up sections of freshly paved roads in coming years.

Jorgensen said the pipe problem arose about two years ago when a section beneath Tanglewood was found to be leaking. The leak caused sand to filter into the pipe, he said, and resulted in a slight collapse to a small section of the roadway.

That problem was repaired last year, but the town wants to check the rest of the pipes this summer before moving ahead with paving on Tanglewood or roads linked to it, like Estate.

If other pipes need replacing, Jorgensen said the town would complete that work this year and make sure the roads are ready for resurfacing in 2012.

In the meantime, Jorgensen said, workers would continue to periodically fill any potholes that have formed on the road.

Smithtown residents concerned about town road conditions can call 631-360-7500.

MICHAEL R. EBERT

A West Babylon street that a reader felt warranted additional stop signs will remain status quo in accordance with the results of a traffic study completed earlier this month.

Last July, we wrote about Tina McGovern of West Babylon and her concerns regarding Burgess Avenue, a road she said is often used as a shortcut between the eastbound service road of Sunrise Highway and Route 109. McGovern was previously successful in getting an "autistic child in area" sign installed because of her son, but felt other safety measures were needed on the 1,000-foot road.

At our request, the Town of Babylon did a traffic study this school year since the last one done in 2001 is now outdated, town officials said. That 2001 traffic study resulted in a four-way stop at the intersection of Burgess and Nims avenues.

However, no stop signs will be installed this time around.

"The current study shows there has been a significant decrease in traffic volume on Burgess since 2001, particularly in the northbound direction," said town spokesman Tim Ruggeri.

The new study showed an average of 1,118 vehicles use Burgess every day, compared to 1,962 in 2001, with northbound vehicles dropping from 1,364 to 402. The decrease is attributed to a greater number of students at nearby West Babylon Junior High School being transported by buses. In 2001, the school was operating on an austerity budget and parents had to drive their kids -- which resulted in a higher traffic volume.

The study also showed 85 percent of traffic travels at average speeds of 31 and 30 miles per hour in northbound at southbound directions, respectively -- which is consistent with the 30-mph speed limit.

There were no accidents reported on Burgess for the three-year period from November 2007 to 2010, which is the last three-year period complete accident records are available.

Babylon residents with similar concerns can call the traffic safety division at 631-957-3105.

MICHAEL R. EBERT