In an effort to complement downtown improvements made throughout the past five years, the Village of Farmingdale is applying for a federal grant to help fund a major project consisting of scenic streetscape enhancements on Conklin Street and the creation of a bicyclist rest station.

The grant is being sought to fund 78 percent of the proposed project, which is estimated to cost about $375 thousand. It entails adding ornamental street lighting, brick sidewalks and trees to Conklin Street, and turning a passive park at the intersection of Melville Road and Main Street into the bicyclist rest station. The park is located within an existing bike path linking Farmingdale to New York City to the west and, to the east, the Suffolk County Central Bike Path to Calverton. The village plans to fund the rest of the project through other grants, and by covering some of the cost through the use of in-house engineers.

The mayor and board of trustees during the Feb. 16 public board meeting authorized Village Clerk Treasurer John Giordano to file the application.

"If approved, this would be the first official bike rest station on Long Island," Giordano said of the bicyclist rest station plans, adding that the Conklin Street enhancement plans will improve the scenic quality of downtown and of a major highway. "All areas of Conklin are going to be impacted, either by tree planting, or brick sidewalks, or ornamental lighting." The bicyclist station would feature a brick walkway, water fountain, benches, gazebo, and bicycling kiosk.

The federal grant is being sought under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), signed into law by President Clinton on June 9, 1998. The measure supports the integration of bicycling and walking into the transportation mainstream.

In accordance with this, the village's application for the improvement project seeks to encourage people to walk and bicycle more often by creating more pedestrian-and bicycle-friendly places.

A draft of the village's application describes the major benefits of the proposed project as improving aesthetics, increasing tourism, reducing traffic congestion, preserving the environment, and conserving energy.

For example, the draft noted, "Conklin Street is a major New York State thoroughfare that extends west to east on Long Island from Queens County to Suffolk County. Conklin Street is considered to be the suburban gateway to Central Nassau County from the industrial-zoned urbaness of the Route 110 corridor in western Suffolk County. Streetscape improvements there will serve to physically and aesthetically buffer the residential areas from Route 110's commercial activity, and improve scenic quality."

The village first started to pursue the project last fall, and Giordano noted that it is seen as phase 3 of grant-funded downtown improvement efforts undertaken by the municipality within the past 5 years. Phases one and two consisted of physical alterations to Main Street, such as the creation of a pedestrian plaza, facilitating access to parking lots, and adding brick sidewalks and ornamental street lighting. Those were funded by a combination of federal, state and county community development grants.

The project has the support of the Village Beautification Committee, a group of volunteers who have designed the site plan for the bicyclist rest station, as well as Paumonok Bicycling of Long Island, whose leaders would like to see the Suffolk County bike path promoted.

In addition, the president of the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce, MaryAnn Paras, has also expressed support for the project. She said the improvement to Conklin Street will complement the downtown enhancements already accomplished by the village. "That will pull it all together," she said, noting that the project will balance what has been done for Main Street.

The village expects to hear results of the application sometime in the fall, and if the grant is approved, construction could begin in the spring of 2000, according to Giordano.