The Town of North Hempstead has approved a resolution adopting an ordinance setting a uniform speed limit of 30 MPH on portions of Roslyn Road.
According to Councilman Peter Zuckerman, the new speed limit goes into effect immediately. Driving north, the 30 MPH is along Roslyn Road from Jericho Turnpike, all the way up to the Long Island Expressway service road. It passes through Roslyn Heights, the Roslyn Country Club, Temple Sinai, Temple Beth Sholom, the Holiday Farms shopping center and the new Dunkin’ Donuts franchise. The vote on the new ordinance was unanimous.
Zuckerman is optimistic that the new speed limit will both improve safety and give drivers a better sense of direction along this troubled thoroughfare. In the past, the speed limit varied between 30 and 40 MPH, a fact that town council members admitted was confusing to drivers
“This will enhance the safety of our residents and all the motorists who travel on Roslyn Road,” Zuckerman said. It was Zuckerman who first proposed the change. At the Sept. 9 meeting, Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs spoke in support of the change.
“This is something that Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth and myself have been working on for quite some time,” Zuckerman added. “We are working with Judy Jacobs on this because Roslyn Road is a county road, while Locust Lane is a town street. We put up a guardrail on Locust Lane on the back of the house where the unfortunate accident took place.”
Zuckerman was referring to a fatal accident that occurred in March at that same intersection of Roslyn Road and Locust Lane. The next month, another fatal accident took place on Roslyn Road.
While Zuckerman welcomed the changes, he feels that more needs to be done.
“We still need a traffic light at the intersection of Roslyn Road and Locust Lane,” he said.
For her part, Judy Jacobs concurred with Zuckerman’s points.
“Lowering the speed limit uniformly along Roslyn Road can do nothing but help,” she said. “Right now, there’s total confusion. On any road that is the scene of death, minimizing the speed limit is mandatory. The next step is to remove the cut-off road for Locust Lane. We need a traffic light on Roslyn Road and Locust Lane.”
Another improvements to Roslyn Road include the construction of electronic speed limit signs to alert drivers of their current speed, comparing it now to the new 30 MPH.
On other news concerning Roslyn Road, the town voted, also unanimously to approve legislation requiring utility companies and phone carriers to remove any decommissioned utility poles, commonly known as “double-poles” from Town roadways giving 30 days for each utility to remove its îplantsî (wires attached to the pole) and an additional 30 days to remove the pole itself. In addition, all new poles will require a permit and payment of a fee. The Superintendent of Highways will notify all utilities at the same time that the double pole must be removed. At least one such pole exists on Roslyn Road.
