Members of the community have voiced the need for a street light on the stretch of road on Mineola Avenue from Warner Avenue to Pine Street after another car accident took place on June 6. Without a traffic light, the road experiences heavy traffic, as well as cars driving at an increased speed. The current speed limit on Mineola Avenue is 35 miles per hour.
Roslyn resident, Helen Chen has children who attend nursery school and summer camp at Pierce Country Day School, which is located off Mineola Avenue in Roslyn. Chen drives up and down the road at least four times a day to pick up and drop off her children.
“It is a very dangerous road,” said Chen. “If you’re turning onto Mineola Ave from any of the side streets, it is near impossible to see if a car is coming at you within [the] normal speed limit. Most cars [drive in the 50 mph range] rather than the 35 mph speed limit. It needs more traffic lights or speed bumps to stop the accidents on this road.”
William Pierce, Director of Pierce Country Day School, agrees a light at the intersection would help to slow down traffic in that area. Pierce stated that the Nassau County Police Department provides him with a police escort to stop traffic during the months camp is in session and is very appreciative of their help, stating that his main priority is to keep his campers and employees safe.
“I think what everyone can agree on is that [people drive] too fast on that road and a traffic light would definitely help with that.”
Pierce stated that he would be open to speaking with Nassau County regarding the traffic light again.
Frank Briggs Guglielmi, travels on the road to and from his store in Roslyn every day. According to Guglielmi, the speed limit sign is mounted way too low for drivers to see clearly. “All that is needed is an undercover [police] officer on radar patrol once a week for a month to get the word out there that you do not [need to] speed. You can do a 100 different things, but without affecting the drivers pockets through moving violation tickets, the speeding will never end,” he said.
According to Nassau County Police Department Lieutenant Richard Lebrun since January 2018, there been approximately 234 summons issued on this road.
Rima Mikhail lives on Mineola Avenue and said a light is needed to slow down traffic and limit the number of accidents in the area.
“I can’t tell you how many accidents occurred on that strip of road,” said Mikhail. Cars are always racing through and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get pulled over.”
Lebrun stated that there have been 28 motor vehicle accidents on Mineola Avenue between Pine Drive South and Garden Street in Roslyn since January 2018.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by the Roslyn Moms and Dads Facebook page to try and raise money for the traffic light. Since the page was created, $100 of the $200,000 goal has been raised.
Part of the GoFundMe summary reads, “The stretch of Mineola Avenue from Northern Boulevard to the light near the old Porsche dealer is a hotbed for traffic accidents. There are trucks and cars that speed down that curvy road and it’s right near two schools and two camps with buses driving up and down daily. It’s also near several residential neighborhoods including the Pines and Roslyn Estates. It costs $200,000 for a light there, but Nassau County, continues to oppose it for a variety of bureaucratic reasons and because it is a private road (four lanes and heavily trafficked with expressway traffic). Nassau refuses to put the safety of our children, educators and community members first and foremost. I’ve seen four to five accidents on that small stretch of road over the past year. We don’t want to wait for a child or another person to be hurt. Please help us raise money to pay for the light so that children, educators and community members can commute safely every day.”
To donate to the GoFundMe visit, www.gofundme.com/protect-our-kids-traffic-light-on-mineola-avenue.
