With the clock ticking, Mayor Jean Celendar is attempting to fine-tune and garner community support for the plan to reconfigure and repave the portion of Great Neck Road that runs east/west between Middle Neck Road and Cuttermill Road extension before the matching department of transportation grant of $526,000 runs out in September. The Plaza board has approved the proposal and is hoping for the support of Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman and his board while taking the steps necessary for the final design and bidding process.

The supervisor has stated that he wants to make sure that members of the public who raised strenuous objections two years ago when the plan was first presented are thoroughly informed and satisfied with the modifications made since that time. He says, "The plan has come a long way since it was first presented and shows merit .... I just want to make sure that the public is well-informed about it. If I get an overwhelming response where it appears that people are confused, I will hold a public meeting, either in Great Neck or at the town hall in Manhasset."

According to Mayor Celender, no fewer than five different traffic-engineering consultants have said that the plan is "solid and sound." The county paid for an engineer to review the plan; the town had its engineer study the plan and the three others were brought in by the village.

The latest version of the plan continues to call for the majority of the road to be one lane in each direction. Imagine that you are driving from Middle Neck Road in a westerly direction. Great Neck Road would still have two lanes in each direction until one reaches the left turn lane into the Gardens of Great Neck's parking lot. Past that traffic light, one-lane traffic in each direction would begin. At three junctures, Knightsbridge, Jason Avenue and mid-block at building #185, left turns and U-turns would be permitted for passenger vehicles only. The length of those turn lanes has been extended to prevent cars from forming bottlenecks. When one nears the Cuttermill Road extension south of the Long Island Rail Road overpass, there would be an increase to two lanes, one permitting a left turn, the other permitting a right turn for those heading north on the peninsula.

Originally, the medians were to be 14 feet wide, but the new plan calls for 10-feet wide slightly raised medians that rise gradually rather than sharply to allow emergency vehicles and utility vehicles to mount the medians when necessary. The left shoulder pavement areas adjacent to the median in both directions have now been increased from 1-foot curb offsets to 3-foot shoulders to provide emergency service access and vehicle passage when there are breakdowns. Wider shoulder areas on both sides, although not marked as bike lanes, could serve as such. Thirty-seven parking spaces would be lost in the plan, most of them on the west end of the street further from Middle Neck Road.

In an "informational meeting" held at the Atria on July 24, Mayor Celendar presented the revised plan and answered questions, along with Trustees Gerry Schneiderman and Joel Libowitz. Belgrave Sewer District commissioner Brian Levings expressed concerns about the ability of the utility's workmen to easily get to the manholes, some of them located in the median and some in the roadway, in the event of blockages. Mayor Celender assured him and Manhasset Lakeville Fire Chief Mike Uttaro that the village and the police would work with them to re-route traffic in the event of emergencies and that for routine work, coordination with the village was the key to efficiency.

The chief raised the suggestion that has been floated in the past, namely, to set up a trial run by using cones to block one lane of traffic and study the outcome. Trustee Schneiderman responded that the experts have told the village that blocking lanes off with cones does not accurately replicate the changes to be made nor would it adequately reflect how drivers would respond. Mr. Schneiderman did confirm that some of the office buildings on Great Neck Road are in the process of converting to residential buildings, which he said would lessen the rush hour traffic. Currently, studies show that there are 9,000 vehicular trips per day on the road.

Actually, Great Neck Road is a Nassau County road, but Mayor Celender has been informed that the Plaza could wait 10 years before the county would ever repave it. "It's just not a high priority for them," she says. The county is totally on board with the new plan.

This half-mile stretch of road, built in the '20s, is considered unsafe because, over time, the concrete paving has worn down in places to the embedded stone causing the street to be unduly slippery in rainy conditions. In addition, there are cracks in the pavement that have widened. From the tone of the meeting, it was clear that residents of the Atria have been lobbying for a safer street, with one woman calling Great Neck Road, "the Great Neck raceway." The plan calls for improved traffic signals with "countdown" numbers flashing indicating for pedestrians how many seconds they have to cross the street before the light changes.

The work plan would utilize a paving process referred to as "thin asphalt" or NovaChip, its patented name. Using a specialized spreader, NovaChip paving places an ultra-thin coarse aggregate hot mix over a special asphalt membrane. This process provides a durable surface lasting about 15 years. NovaChip has been used successfully on the Jersey Turnpike. The thin resurfacing process is much less expensive for road restoration because curbs, drains and manhole covers do not have to be refitted to accommodate thicker asphalt applications that are usually about 2.5 inches. It also takes less time to accomplish because of its simplicity.

Mayor Celender expressed concern about the rising costs of construction, partially based on escalating petroleum costs, stating that bids for many projects are coming in much higher than anticipated. The village has already budgeted their 10 percent share of the grant and Mayor Celender is hopeful that any overrun costs will not be prohibitive. Certainly, she appears resolute in her conviction that such a change to Great Neck Road would result in a safer, esthetically pleasing and less racy street.

(Editor's note: Residents who have concerns about the plan may get in touch with the Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman at 869-7700 or kaimanj@northhempstead.com. Mayor Celender and her board are willing to sit down with any group to explain and discuss the proposal.)