The Village of Great Neck Plaza has been awarded a $353,000 traffic calming grant from the New York State Department of Transportation to address three problem traffic areas. Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said that the projects are intended to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety. This new pilot program is federally funded, but administered through the state down to the local level.

The program's grant allows the village to spend a maximum of $353,000 of the grant funds, reimbursing the village up to 90 percent, while the village funds a minimum of $35,300. Should the projects exceed the grant money, the village pays 100 percent of such additional costs.

Mayor Celender, who applied for the grant, identified three traffic problem areas and applied for funds for all three projects. All three were approved for the grant.

The first project addresses speeding, and the mayor noted that the village's residential parking and pedestrian safety committee contributed much to identifying this problem. The village's plan here is to install speed detection signs and place them at strategic points in the village.

These traffic speed detection devices would be permanently placed on stanchions, over traffic lanes (possibly in the right-hand traffic lane), so drivers could readily see the speed limit and check their own speed. Last year the Plaza borrowed similar devices from Nassau County, for a week, on South Middle Neck Road and over the Middle Neck Road bridge, and Mayor Celender reported that the tapes showed that ''people did comply'' when the devices were used.

The Plaza would also like to have such traffic detection signs that include taping devices, so the village could track traffic patterns and better study any problems.

Mayor Celender would like to see such speed detection signs on South Middle Neck Road, at the entrance to the village, and at other such strategic traffic spots such as Cuttermill Road and Great Neck Road. ''It really does the trick,'' she stated. ''It slows people down ... it is very effective.''

Along with the speed detection signs, Mayor Celender would also like to see better enforcement, ''or else it will all become ineffective.''

The second project included in the grant is a redesign of the Barstow Road traffic circle. Here, as with the other two traffic calming proposals, Mayor Celender had to videotape the problem area. ''We saw that some people never stop ... many roll right through the stop sign ... some don't even yield to pedestrians,'' said the mayor.

Working with new standards for ''round-abouts,'' the village will address these problems. The grant will provide for the project from start to finish, from the engineering design right through construction and construction inspection.

Mayor Celender said that often, with such a situation, the engineer will recommend ''separating out'' the pedestrian crosswalk by using different colors or different materials. The mayor also noted that there is a possibility that the traffic circle might have to come out, as the vegetation grows quickly and can cause sight distance problems.

The third traffic calming project involves the Grace Avenue Park area. Mayor Celender explained that there have been a number of pedestrian accidents in that area, with a couple of fatalities. ''Pedestrians should not cross mid-block,'' she stated.

Reviewing some options, in an interview with the Record, the mayor spoke about possible solutions she has seen in Manhattan. She spoke about new mid-block pedestrian crossings in Manhattan and she spoke about ITS devices. The ITS device indicates when a pedestrian steps into a crosswalk, a signal is sent, and a light blinks telling drivers that a pedestrian is in the crosswalk. Nassau County would have to approve such a device.

As the Grace Avenue Park is heavily used, Mayor Celender is anxious to make this a safer area.

Once a design engineer is hired, plans might change, as the engineer may well have other proposals. Once plans are drawn, state approval is required before any work may begin. The mayor anticipates that all three projects will take between a year and a year-and-a-half for completion.

Mayor Celender discovered this traffic calming grant opportunity at a workshop. ''This is a really nice pilot project,'' she said. ''But we don't know if it will be ongoing ... there might be some more money afterwards.''

Much of the input for traffic problem areas came from the village's residential parking and pedestrian traffic safety committee, the mayor said. Other ideas came from calls and complaints that have come in to the village.

Mayor Celender worked on the grant with the assistance of village engineer Walter Handelman and Carol Teplin, executive assistant to the mayor.