COMMUNITY WATCHDOG: Utility poles are too close

There are two utility poles across the street from each other on my street. They're leaning so close to the houses that the wires on one of them is almost touching a shed in my neighbor's yard. I've called LIPA a few times and they say they're coming out, but they haven't. The last time I called was two months ago. Someone needs to do something about these poles.

- Vincent Esposito, Plainedge

After we called Long Island Power Authority spokesman Mark Gross, the poles were quickly replaced. But a bunch of coordinating takes place after that, and Gross kept things moving. In an e-mail, Gross wrote, "When we completed the work on April 10, we sent out notification to Verizon and Cablevision asking them to transfer their equipment to the new pole. After reviewing our records, we noticed the [Town of Oyster Bay] was not notified that they needed to move their equipment as well for the free standing streetlight, so we immediately placed a call to them. Since the town does not remove poles, we asked that once they complete their portion of the work, they should contact LIPA, and we will dispose of the old pole for them.

Cablevision, which owns Newsday, and the town responded almost immediately to LIPA's request. On Thursday, Verizon transferred its lines to the new poles and removed the remaining portions of the old ones, spokesman John Bonomo noted by e-mail, saving LIPA the return trip.

Problems with utility poles should be reported to LIPA at 800-490-0025.

A dangerous intersection

The intersection at Greenlawn and Dunlop roads is extremely dangerous. The roads form a T-intersection and there needs to be stop signs in all three directions. Right now, there are only two stop signs for traffic moving east and west and none where Greenlawn meets Dunlop. To add to the danger, there is a blind spot on Greenlawn Road where drivers come around the bend very fast, and the drivers on Dunlop are unable to see them until the last second. I have witnessed many near-accidents because drivers assume that this is a three-way stop.

- Melissa Bielawski, Greenlawn

Get in line please, Mrs. Bielawski. You're not the only driver who thinks this intersection needs to be designated an all-way stop. Town of Huntington spokesman A.J. Carter said another resident made this request about five years ago. "We did a review of accident data at that time and it indicated the intersection was functioning satisfactorily with the stop signs controlling eastbound and westbound traffic," he said.

Since then, they've had another request and the Transportation and Traffic Safety Department will do a new investigation. "We're going to put counters out at the intersection to record the volume of traffic and speed," Carter said. "We'll look at the accident data and general design of the road and take everything into account," he said.

We've driven this intersection many times and are curious about what the town's conclusion will be. The data collection should begin in early summer and take a couple of months, Carter said. This request for a stop sign is one of 150 the town is reviewing.

Anyone with traffic concerns in the town should call 631-351-3053.

Stopping speeders on 25A

There is an out-of-control speeding problem on Route 25A from Mount Sinai to Rocky Point. The road is posted in most spots at 45 mph, and even though I'm traveling at around 50 mph, the majority of cars are speeding past me. There needs to be more police enforcement and much greater police presence on the road.

- Keith Amato, Rocky Point

You'll get no argument from police, Mr. Amato. Commanding officers for Suffolk County Police's Sixth and Seventh Precincts said that Route 25A has been on their radar, so to speak, and officers will continue their high level of enforcement. The Seventh has been using speed-detecting machines that flash how fast a vehicle is moving and the Sixth plans to use them starting this spring on that road.

Since 2007, the two precincts have issued a total of 620 speeding tickets on the three-mile or so stretch of road - including 68 during the first three months of this year, a department spokesman said.

Insp. Robert Oswald, commanding officer of the Sixth Precinct said his officers have issued 2,600 tickets on the road since 2007 for various offenses.

Insp. David Ferrara, the Seventh Precinct's commanding officer, said the road's Rocky Point stretch often ranks second on the precinct's crash list. As a result, COPE officers give the road "a bulk of their attention," he said.

Anyone with speeding concerns in the Sixth Precinct, call 631-854-8600; in the Seventh Precinct, call 631-852-8700.

- Michael R. Ebert