Residents: Oakwood Road detour worsened

It's a sleepy neighborhood, these streets north of Jericho Turnpike on the east side of Oakwood Road in Huntington Station.

Sleepy, that is, until the traffic picks up, typically between 7 and 7:30 each weekday morning.

On a recent Friday, traffic hit its stride as the clock approached 8 a.m. But the drivers weren't local residents pulling out of their driveways. Instead, they were coming from Jericho Turnpike, a maneuver that avoids a No Turn on Red sign at the Jericho Turnpike-Oakwood Road traffic signal. The sign was one piece of a 2004 state Department of Transportation effort to improve pedestrian safety at the intersection, which is near Walt Whitman High School.

In the years since, these residential streets east of Oakwood Road have become rush-hour thoroughfares. On the recent Friday, evidence became clear: In the 23 minutes leading up to 8 a.m., the rate of traffic turning from Jericho north onto Jones Lane, which is one block east of Oakwood Road, was one vehicle every 35 seconds.

The rush waned at 7:56. Then, at 8 a.m., two more cars scooted through. If we exclude the four-minute lull, the traffic rate was one vehicle every 30 seconds -- a 19-minute stretch during which 36 cars, plus two school buses, took the detour.

Thirteen of the vehicles turned from Jones onto Wexford Street, which ends at Oakwood; most slowed for the stop sign at Wexford's midpoint, but none halted.

For two years, the neighborhood has sought intervention, demonstrated by resident Gerald Matarazzo's file of correspondence. Huntington Town responded by painting stop lines at seven stop signs, town spokesman A.J. Carter said, and Suffolk County police have occasionally stepped up patrols.

But, Matarazzo says, the situation hasn't improved and he's seeking sterner traffic control measures.

"I would love to see a speed bump put in at the stop sign [at Wexford and Cavan Place] like they have all around the schools in Queens and Brooklyn," he said in his initial email to Watchdog.

And how about a No Right Turn sign, he asked, one that would prevent traffic from taking the shortcut during designated hours?

Presented with the rush-hour numbers, Carter said the town's Transportation and Traffic Safety Department doesn't see a need for further measures. "There's nothing more the town feels we can do right now," he said. "We believe the answer is enforcement" of speed and stop sign violations.

Det. Steven deSantis of the Second Precinct's COPE unit said he would try to arrange for more patrols, but "unless I put someone there every day, it's going to continue to be a problem."

Which brings us back to square one. Residents of Jones, Wexford and adjoining streets want to keep the neighborhood safe for children and pedestrians, not to mention for residents backing out of their own driveways. But the town isn't ready to take steps to stop outsiders from using the shortcut on their way to work or school.

It's a detour that saves them, at most, a minute.

More patrols are on the way, Mr. Bonanno.

After our call, Sgt. Andrew Kenneally of Suffolk County Police's Fifth Precinct reviewed the complaints made in 2011 by nearby residents and visited Bellhaven Road in December to assess the signage. He said the precinct will add the location to its patrol checks in an effort to crack down on illegal harvesting or trespassers tempted to hang out on the wooden jetty.

And Town of Brookhaven code enforcement officers will begin periodic patrols of the area and continue to respond to calls there, said town spokesman Jack Krieger. Bay constables already patrol the site several times a week, he said.

"The signs are there to protect the health and safety of our residents," Krieger said.

Kenneally said Suffolk police received only four calls regarding disobeyed signage there in 2011 and each time the offenders were gone by the time police had arrived. He encouraged residents to continue calling 911 when offenses occur.

"People should always obey signage -- no parking, no trespassing, whatever it is -- because signs are there for a reason," Kenneally said.

Brookhaven residents looking to report similar offenses can call the town's code enforcement office at 631-451-6161.

-- MICHAEL R. EBERT