Senior Planner for Nassau County, Jim O'Hearn, declared that, "The project will only go forward if it has community support" at the recent meeting held by the Eastern Property Owners' Asscociation to discuss the designs for reconfiguring the intersecton of Clinton Avenue and Stewart Avenue.

After a meeting filled with public criticism of the proposals, the County's planner reassured the public that if there was no support for these designs, then they would not be approved. In fact, during the 1980s a couple of proposals for the area were turned down. With Stewart School, a bank, a Garden City Volunteer Fire Department station, and two churches all in the area of this very busy intersection, it is certainly a tremendous concern of area residents who wish to keep the intersection as safe as possible.

The proposal calls for the widening of the already larger-than- average intersection to accommodate left turn lanes. Nelson and Pope LLP was hired by Nassau County to create the plans for the new turn lanes on Clinton Avenue (north and south). The concern among residents was predominantly regarding the truck traffic that passes through the intersection. By expanding the intersection to ease the congestion, most residents seemed to feel that this would only increase the number of large trucks speeding past Stewart School and further increase the number of accidents in the area. County officials informed the public that the Village has the right to ban trucks from the road, or trucks above a certain weight, and that it would be the Village's responsibility to divert the traffic and not the County's.

The proposals come as Nassau County develops its plans to address north and southbound traffic. The concern is that as this work is done in conjunction with work on other major north-south routes, traffic will only increase and make the intersection more dangerous. Also, concern was expressed by SAFE member Mike Merrick that if the County increases intermodal freight transportation, then activity at the Hempstead Intermodal Facility will significantly increase and draw more trucks to the area, which will bring them to the Clinton/Stewart intersection.

So, without support from the residents of Nassau County, the proposals will not be approved, so all residents who wish to lodge a complaint or express concern about the proposals should do so now. If residents are concerned about the intersection and wish new designs to be created or examined, individuals can request that their Village representatives contact the County and request that there be further discussion and examination of the issue.