Mastic Beach renewal offers hope — and a warning

A long-awaited revitalization project’s approval on Long Island is a good example of a public-private partnership working — and a warning about failing to address regional traffic issues.

The $590 million downtown Mastic Beach revitalization inched closer to reality last week when the Brookhaven Town Board voted 6-0 to approve zoning changes to allow about 550 town house and apartment units to be built. The struggling downtown business district will get a huge lift with 130,000 square feet of retail and office space.

The project, led by the Beechwood Organization, shows how a large-scale redevelopment project, even amid Long Island’s byzantine zoning laws, can succeed. If it comes to fruition, the neighborhood will get a shot in the arm and Long Island’s housing stock will see a boost in much-needed units.

One downside is that redevelopment projects add traffic on local roads. But the broader regional impact can be overlooked by planners focused on local traffic concerns. Traffic issues in an area like Mastic Beach, a peninsula bordered by two rivers, a federal wildlife refuge and railroad tracks, and served by just one four-lane highway, can be especially daunting. Across the Island there are numerous areas like Mastic Beach in need of redevelopment that will also require regional traffic solutions.

That means cooperation with — and money from — the state and federal governments.

Decades ago, a plan to build an overpass on William Floyd Parkway over the Long Island Rail Road tracks just south of Montauk Highway at the Mastic-Shirley train station never materialized. That major choke point continues to bedevil motorists during rush hour traffic, especially in the summer. It will likely get worse with the Mastic Beach redevelopment.

We’ve done this before. Farther west on Nicolls Road, an overpass over Middle Country Road finished in 1998 alleviated traffic congestion. Construction on a similar overpass over Nicolls at Route 347 is expected to start in late 2028. These regional infrastructure improvements make the roads safer and spur economic growth while easing congestion.

And let’s not forget about evacuation routes used by tens of thousands of residents when a hurricane strikes. Residents along the coast need quick access to high ground. Eliminating choke points improves evacuation times.

Whatever community on Long Island is being redeveloped — whether it’s Mineola or Huntington, or large areas like the Nassau Hub and Ronkonkoma Hub — there’s a nearby major highway that is already drowning in vehicles. “Regional infrastructure has to be a factor in all of these redevelopments,” Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico, who was instrumental in getting the Mastic Beach project through, told the editorial board. “And regional infrastructure requires the state and possibly federal government. They have to contribute.”

A 2021 University of California at Los Angeles study found that traffic studies tend to focus on local roads, “. . . largely ignoring regional effects on travel or the economy.” Fixing regional traffic logjams will not only help residents evacuate during emergencies, it will provide much-needed relief on roads already stressed to the breaking point every day.