Montauk Highway Project Committee Meets with Emergency Services Personnel ...by Marilyn Wilson

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Recipients of the 2003 Smart Growth Award for Community-based Planning Initiating are: Eric Alexander; Director Vision Long Island, Janet Gilmor: Grant writer William Floyd School District, Ron Stein; President Vision Long Island, Bill Ryan: President Chamber of Commerce of Shirley & the Mastics, Beth Wahl : Chairperson William Floyd Community Summit, Dr. Richard Hawkins: superintendent William Floyd School District. ( Not pictured but also in attendance Ed Hennessey, Brookhaven Town Councilman and Susan Wischhusen, Montauk Highway Committee.) Community leaders from the William Floyd Summit, the Chamber of Commerce of the Mastics and Moriches and several members representing emergency service volunteer units met last week for a presentation of the progress achieved by the Montauk Highway Project Committee and an over view of code changes designed to change the face of Montauk Highway in Mastic and Shirley.

At the meeting, held at Dowling College on William Floyd Parkway in Shirley, Richard Hawkins, superintendent of the William Floyd School District, explained that the purpose of the highway committee is to work together to create a unified force. "We are the collective voice of the community," Hawkins said.

Town Councilman Ed Hennessey said that the communities of Mastic and Shirley are in the unique position of having two projects planned simultaneously the actual roadway reconstruction, which is a county project, and the revitalization of the street scape and businesses along Montauk Highway from the William Floyd intersection up to Barnes Road to the east, which is dependant upon town zoning codes.

Last year, in early February, 2002, residents of the Shirley and Mastics communities took part in a series of workshops that included a walking tour of Montauk Highway and interactive workshops where blueprints of the Montauk Highway of the future were gathered. The workshop visions resulted in three distinct downtown nodes along Montauk Highway the intersections of William Floyd Parkway, Titmus Road, and Herkimer Street.

Brookhaven Town Planning Commissioner Dan Guilizio presented an overview of the newly proposed J-6 building code which would facilitate downtown revitalizations. "The new code allows for higher yields, more uses, mixed uses and less red tape for construction when it conforms to the community vision," Guilizio said. Downtown smart growth' ideas consist of businesses along the sidewalks with shared parking clusters located in the rear. "Shared parking allows shoppers to access many stores," Gulizio said. "This eliminates the need to go back to the car and keep moving it to new parking spots." These types of patterns of development are also conducive to outdoor cafes that in the past required time-consuming zoning appeals.

A public hearing will be held at Town Hall, on Route 112, in Medford, on Tuesday, July 8, at 6:30 pm, to discuss land use and the new zoning code.

Last month, the Suffolk County Department of Public Works recommended two roadway reconstruction options based on a $2 million engineering study commenced nearly seven years ago.One option called for the elimination of some turn lanes onto William Floyd Parkway by diverting traffic, widening a section of Montauk Highway, and the creation of modern roundabouts at the three junction nodes along the Montauk Highway corridor. Additional improvements could include the installation of dry sewer lines for possible future sewer districts, and the underground installation of utility lines, along with other aesthetic improvements. The cost of these improvements range from $13 to $20 million.

Since the unveiling of these plans, many emergency service personnel have expressed concern for a plan which includes roundabouts because emergency vehicles would be hampered. But Summit President Beth Wahl said that neither road reconstruction option for Montauk Highway fits the visioning process. "The two options presented are not the answer to the problems," Wahl said. "We have requested access to the entire study results. I understand that more options are available." Wahl and others agreed that the county DPW plan will do little to alleviate traffic woes.

"One thing we must realize now," Hawkins said, "Traffic will never be eliminated no matter how many lanes are built. What we seek is a plan that will allow traffic to flow in a safe fashion."

Gulizio explained that downtown areas are not meant to be speedways. "People drive slowly through a downtown. If you divert traffic you kill downtown businesses."

Summit members said they are looking toward federal and state agencies for roadway reconstruction dollars.

The Mastic peninsula lacks a federally mandated coastal evacuation plan. "There are 50,000 people down here," Hennessey said, "with no way out." If federal funds are pumped into the Mastics and Shirley, Summit members said, it may be possible to construct more north-south avenues to Montauk Highway, and the South Sunrise Highway Service Road to connect to Barnes Road.

Hearings have not been slated for the county Montauk Highway reconstruction approval. They are expected to be held next month. Wahl said that her group will voice their discontent with what was presented. "They will have to go back to the drawing board," Wahl said.