Ronkonkoma traffic island: Help or hazard?

When a concrete island began to take shape on Union Avenue in Ronkonkoma, neighbors didn't know what to make of it. "To date, no one has been able to figure out the purpose of this," Wayne Gutschow wrote to Watchdog at the time.

"It's too narrow to create a left turn lane for the eastbound side, it's too short to separate traffic for any more than 20 feet, and it's not a bus stop," he wrote of the structure near Windham Lane. "If this was placed here by anyone other than the highway department, it would be considered an obstruction to traffic."

As work continued, the confusion began to clear. The island, now completed, is intended to calm traffic, according to Brookhaven Town. But its effect on neighbors has been far from calming.

They fear the island poses a hazard. Gutschow said he has seen cars dodging the structure, which, on a Watchdog visit Friday, still was accompanied by reflective orange barrels and a directional sign. He has photos of a late-summer nighttime accident in which a car struck a nearby utility pole.

The town's intent is to make the road safer, said Lynn Weyant, who was director of traffic safety when the island was planned and installed. The island, along with sidewalks and bike lanes, was part of a project funded by a federal Local Safer Streets and Traffic Calming grant.

Construction delays prolonged initial traffic confusion, town spokesman Jack Krieger said. Today, roadway reflectors, pavement markings and new streetlights have been installed, said Weyant, now a consultant to the town. "I've driven by a few times at night," she said, "and it is well lit and identifiable."

Gutschow acknowledged that the town has "made an effort to make the thing visible." But he says the project was unnecessary and scoffs at town statements that the project would address "pedestrian and bicycle safety and excessive motor vehicle speeding" while "improving the aesthetic character of the area." The stretch of road isn't known for bicycle use, he said, nor has he seen pedestrians crossing there.

It goes without saying the reflective barrels are hardly pleasing to look at.

The town is hoping the island's intended effect will prevail. But, Weyant said, if safety issues arise, the town is willing to re-evaluate. "It can always be studied for removal at a later date," she said.

Cars obscure wheelchair ramp

Frank Sapio of Elmont wasn't expecting a wheelchair ramp to be installed in the curb in front of his house: "The day they were pouring the cement, I went out and asked what it was for. One of the men told me it was a handicapped ramp . . . They asked if I would be using it."

Sapio asked Hempstead Town and Nassau County police about the ramp and if a No Parking sign would accompany it. He wound up turning to Watchdog for assistance.

Let's make it clear that Sapio doesn't object to the ramp's presence, though its unannounced arrival and location at mid-block were puzzling.

Even as he has changed his parking habit from curbside to driveway, other drivers now park in front of the ramp.

As for its arrival: Hempstead spokesman Mike Deery said that, under the Americans With Disabilities Act, ramps must be added at intersections -- including T intersections -- when road or sidewalk work is done. Sapio's house sits atop such a T.

And though parking at a ramp is a violation, Deery said there are no plans for a sign.

"Just as folks know not to park in front of a driveway, we believe the same thing will apply here," he said.

Told of that response, Sapio countered: "Then why put the ramp there if people are going to park in front? It's not doing what it's supposed to do."

Drivers who don't know may learn the hard way: When Watchdog called Nassau County police, a spokeswoman said the Fifth Precinct would step up enforcement at the location.

And if the town hears that drivers continue to block the ramp, "we can look into prospective remedies," Deery said, such as a crosswalk that would draw attention to it.