The Town of Oyster Bay has proposed a draft traffic plan for Hicksville that, if implemented, would connect Newbridge Road and Broadway. Known as the Hicksville Hamlet Plan, the project could mean the elimination of existing roadways in order to construct new roads throughout the hamlet.

While town officials state the proposed plan will improve business patronage and traffic flow within the heart of the community, commercial property owners in Hicksville are opposed, stating it will have a negative effect on both business and community life.

Last year, planning consultants Frederick P. Clark Associates and Lockwood, Kessler & Bartlett, Inc. were hired to help develop a comprehensive plan outlining a vision for Hicksville's future. Extensive surveys of local traffic in and around the downtown were performed to determine traffic flow patterns. Surveys were also performed to determine which way vehicles enter and exit the downtown and its surrounding roadways.

Results of the surveys showed that most motorists do not utilize Old Country Road when traveling east-west, but rather such east-west roadways as West John Street/East John Street, West Barclay Street/East Barclay Street, Woodbury Road, Plainview Road, Duffy Road and West Marie Street. The results also showed a need for additional roadways to provide improved east-west traffic flow around the downtown and other areas of the hamlet.

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto said the Hicksville Hamlet Plan offers everyone in the community an opportunity to become involved in shaping the future of Hicksville. "There has never been a comprehensive plan for the entire community, and I believe that now is the time to develop a plan that will set goals, objectives and recommendations for the future of Hicksville and will reflect the interests of all segments of the community," stated Venditto.

In November, the firms proposed a two-phase draft Road Improvement Plan that encompasses a three-quarter mile area north-south between West Marie and West John Streets and a half-mile area east-west between Newbridge Road (Route 106) and Broadway (Route 107). The project, which is intended to improve east-west traffic throughout the downtown area, would pertain to the area immediately surrounding the Hicksville Long Island Rail Road station.

Phase 1 of the preliminary project pertains to the area north of the Hicksville train station and proposed the upgrading of West Barclay Street west of Route 107. To do so, the plan has proposed extending the four-lane West Barclay Street across Route 107, through where the Kennedy Memorial Park gazebo now stands, to West John Street beyond Route 106. The sections of the park would later be connected, the park expanded and access improved. The plan doesn't include major road improvements to East Barclay Street or Woodbury Road.

Phase 2 calls for an improved east-west roadway connecting Duffy Avenue and West Marie Street, west of Route 107. With West Barclay extending across Route 107, Jerusalem Avenue, south of West John Street to the train trestle, would be closed as would be West Marie Street and the extension of Nelson Avenue and Herzog Place. As a result, motorists traveling south on Jerusalem Avenue would be directed to a newly reconstructed four-lane West Marie Street in order to access Route 107 to the east or Route 106 to the west.

Both phases of the project would also include beautification projects such as streetscape design, landscaping and facade design.

If approved, the proposed plan would eliminate access to various Jerusalem Avenue businesses, including the Empire Diner. Based on the plan, the diner, which recently reopened after a fire caused more than $1 million in damage, would only be accessible via West John Street. The Dalton Funeral Home, located at Jerusalem Avenue and West Marie Street, would also be directly affected.

"The initial plan had West Barclay going right through my building," Beth Dalton, owner of the funeral home, said. "Now, the new plan routes the road around the building. When I look down Marie Street and try to envision a four-lane road, I get a little concerned."

If the road improvement plan is approved, this will be the second time in 77 years that the family-owned and-run funeral home will be a 1960s, but before that we were located on Newbridge Road," said Dalton. "But when the state came through many years ago and decided they were going to widen Route 106 and Route 107 so many businesses were forced out."

Hicksville business owners opposed to the plan state the creation of new roadways and the elimination of existing ones would also create more problems in an already congested community. "These east-west roads the town wants to put in are going to bring in traffic that is just passing through Hicksville," said commercial property owner Michael Roche. "The people in Hicksville already know how to get around, so what do we need a new east-west roadway for? [The town] says the roads are going to help ease traffic flow in the area, but all they are going to do is bring in more traffic."

Dalton agreed, saying, "Every change that has been made to Hicksville has not been for the benefit of the village but for the traffic. All this will do is move traffic faster through Hicksville at the benefit of commuters traveling east-west."

At a meeting held last month, town representatives said they would not comment on the roads, but would set up a meeting in the near future. No meeting has been held at press time.

Hicksville Fire Commissioner Bill McKee said that although there is a need for additional east-west roadways, increasing the traffic volume along already congested streets such as West Marie would have a negative effect on fire response time. "Traffic is heavy now, especially during rush hour," said McKee. "If this road were made into a four-lane street, it would be double. Not only would it reduce our response time to a call, but it would also lengthen the amount of time it takes to get to the firehouse and the time it takes to get our trucks out."

In addition to creating new roadways, the proposal calls for the elimination of commuter parking lots such as those owned by Roche. "One of the [proposed] roadways would go entirely through the northern part of my lot on Duffy Avenue and [Route] 106 and I will lose about 125 daily parking spaces," said Roche. "The other lot, on the corner of Jerusalem Avenue and West Marie Street, will be completely decimated."

With parking already difficult at the station during the workweek, Roche said the elimination of parking would make things worse. "Hicksville has the second largest train station on Long Island, behind Jamaica," he said. "Just because you take away 200 some odd parking spaces doesn't mean people are going to stop taking the train from Hicksville. They are going to keep coming because the train station is what it is."

Roche added that the elimination of station parking would cause motorists to park on side streets and further into the business district. "That is going to take parking away from those who want to patronize the stores in Hicksville," he said. "We've heard nothing about new lots. If they are planning on opening a new lot, it's a secret."

Martha Offerman, town clerk for the Town of Oyster Bay, said that of the 37,000 parking permits distributed biannually throughout the town, there are only 4,000 parking spaces available in Hicksville. "This plan would take away parking so where are these people supposed to park?" asked Offerman. "I am not saying there isn't room for improvement [in Hicksville] but there has to be a better way to work this."

In response to concerns over the lost of parking spaces and property, Supervisor said, "There is no possibility, whatsoever, that anything will be done to adversely impact the parking situation or anyone who is currently using, benefiting from or enjoying property in Hicksville. I am sorry that a perception was created that that could happen."

Steven Dash, owner of Long Island Yellow Cab at the Hicksville train station, said that if approved, the plan would also effect traffic circulation in and around the station. "Traffic in and out of the station will be a horror show," said Dash. "Also, anyone trying to make a train will be so backed up in traffic they will not make it to the station in time."

In 2001, an advisory committee comprised of elected officials, community organizations, business owners and civic leaders was formed to work on the plan. Two public workshops were held last year, one in June and another in November, to inform the community of the plan and provide them with an opportunity to supply feedback and express their concerns.

The current plan includes input from the New York State Department of Transportation and Nassau County Department of Public Works, as well as town officials and the Hicksville Hamlet Plan committee. If a Roadway Improvement Plan is deemed necessary, a more detailed traffic analysis will be conducted to determine more specific traffic control measures, the number of lanes necessary on specific streets and the projected traffic volume on each roadway.

Business owners throughout Hicksville, however, state they were not notified of the meetings. "No notices were sent to local landowners in and around the area," said Roche. "Something of this magnitude, we should have been notified."

Offerman agreed, saying, "Lots of businesses are going to be directly affected by this [and] too many of them were not notified. Some of them could lose their businesses, especially those located on the roads [the town] want to close." She urged business owners to not give up. "This is still very much a proposal," said Offerman. "The people of Hicksville stand a great chance of stopping it. I am impressed with this group of business owners who have come together in a common cause and urge them to continue working together."

So far more than 1,000 residents and business owners have signed petitions denouncing the plan. When asked whether or not he has come across anyone in support of the plan, Roche said, "Honest to God, no. I haven't met anyone who sees a reason why roads that have been in Hicksville since day one will be closed to put in new roads or who understands how these roads will benefit Hicksville."

Dash said, "I don't know where all these people are who support the plan because I haven't met anyone yet. I am all for the beautification of Hicksville, but this will be detrimental to us."

Supervisor Venditto said that Hicksville residents and business owners should know that the proposed plan is just that, a proposal. "Everything that has gone on so far is strictly a gathering of inventory, the gathering of data, inputting and outreaching to the public," he said. "[The town is asking] the public to tell us what they think. Whether you are big or small, whether you live here or work here, whether you're here all the time or just come and go."

Venditto said that information and suggestions that aren't definite have been given to the community on a piecemeal basis. "The common sense reaction is 'hey, wait a minute, if someone is putting this out there they must be seriously thinking about doing it," he said. "Once you pass the message along to 20 people, by the time it gets to the 20th person, everyone considers it a done deal that's been shoved down their throats."

He went on to say, "Although it was well-intended, I think my experts wanted to find out how people were going to react to that data, and now they are finding out. It's created a perception that this is something more than a suggestion, and that perhaps, this is a definite plan."

The next step, said Venditto, is for all the data that has come back to be analyzed, categorized, formulated and then submitted to the town board for review. It would then be turned over to the community to review, make suggestions and changes. A new plan, one based upon all the input given by members of the Hicksville community, would then be developed, followed by another extensive outreach to see how people react to that proposal.

"I want to add as much assurance as possible that there is no possibility of anything happening in Hicksville until everyone has had an opportunity to not only give their ideas, but then to review the ideas that were given, consider them, reconsider them and comment on them," said Venditto.

In the end, the final decision is up to the Hicksville community. "Theoretically, everybody can come back and say 'hey leave everything just the way it is Supervisor, we appreciate your interest, but it's fine the way it is'," said Venditto. "Or they can come back with suggestions on how to make things better. If the ultimate state of affairs is that if it ain't broken, don't fix it, then that is a perfectly acceptable answer."

A meeting between the town's planners and members of the business community will take place on March 11. The purpose of the meeting, said Venditto, is to give the public an opportunity to tell us what they think and for us to give assurance that this is not a done deal.'

As a whole, the plan is comprised of seven individual goals:

* Community Appearance Goal: Enhance the physical and aesthetic appearance of the town and protect the scenic and historic resources

* Business Environment/Downtown Goal: Ensure the vitality of downtown and business areas in Hicksville by capitalizing on their assets and opportunities, strengthening the business environment, enhancing the appearance and expanding activities available to the community.

* Transportation Goal: Maintain and improve the function of the road network, enhance traffic circulation and compliance with regulations and accommodate parking needs for different users, create opportunities for safe pedestrian and bicycle movements and encourage alternative forms of transportation.

* Residential Goal: Preserve the quality, character and stability of neighborhoods in Hicksville.

* Environmental Resources Goal: Preserve existing open space, acquire new properties for preservation and recreation, and protect the viewsheds, scenic features and other environmental assets of the community.

* Parks and Recreation Goal: Provide a range of recreational program, services and facilities to address the needs and interest of the current and future population of the town and coordinate with the villages and adjacent towns.

* Community Service and Facilities Goal: Promote and provide diverse services to meet the needs of the community and seek collaboration and coordination with other service providers.

* Strong sense of identity and community.

* Good quality of life.

* Vibrant, thriving downtown and business area.

* Neighborhoods are maintained and diverse housing opportunities are available for residents.

* Appearance is enhanced to make the Hamlet desirable to residents, businesses, other aspects of the community and visitors.

* Open space, scenic resources, historic sites and heritage attributes are preserved.

* Array of appealing services, parks, cultural and community events and recreational facilities are provided.

* Transportation network addresses the needs and safety of vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

* Active involvement and coordination among the civic groups, places of worship, schools, community service providers and businesses in meeting the needs of residents.