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July 25, 2008 | 12:25 PM
We are thrilled to see Brookhaven's attempts to improve sidewalks along Old Town Road, but we feel a need to remind town officials that safety must be their foremost concern.
We're quite certain Councilwoman Kathy Walsh (R-Centereach) and other officials had the best interest of the walking public in mind when they pushed through an application for state DOT funding to cover the lion's share of the installation project's $960,000 cost. (If it comes to fruition, the project will essentially create a contiguous sidewalk from Port Jefferson Station to Coram.)
But even Walsh admitted that speeding is a concern on Old Town, and simply installing new concrete paths hardly ensures pedestrian safety. Neither will the landscaping improvements sure to be included in the town's plans.
Serious study must address where these sidewalks will go, and why, and how traffic patterns will be mitigated to ensure optimum pedestrian safety. Remember, many of the officials working on this project also championed the new traffic light alignment at the intersection of Hawkins and Boyle roads in Selden — a project that marginally improved traffic flow, but significantly perturbed local residents.
We encourage the DOT to consider this ambitious project when dispensing its competitive grants. We also look forward to the town's updated sidewalk plans, and to learning firsthand exactly how safe those walkways will be.
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