Civic representatives and business owners met on Wednesday, March 6 to discuss the pros and cons of a draft traffic plan proposed by the Town of Oyster Bay. The plan, which town officials state is still in its preliminary stages, currently calls for the elimination of existing roadways in order to construct new roads that would connect Broadway and Newbridge Road throughout the hamlet.

Last year, Frederick P. Clark Associates and Lockwood, Kessler & Bartlett, Inc. developed the plan, at the request of the town, to help develop a comprehensive plan outlining a vision for Hicksville's future.

Steven Dash, owner of Long Island Yellow Cab at the Hicksville train station, said that the proposal, as it stands, is not something the business owners or community is interested in. "This is a major threat, whether it is ready to go or not, to the businesses and that is why we are having these meetings," said Dash. "[The town] should have come to us and asked us what we thought instead of putting this in front of us. We are just addressing what is being shoved down our throats."

Beth Dalton, owner of the Dalton Funeral Home, agreed, saying, "If we don't come up as a group with a vision about what we do want in this area, then we will unfortunately be stuck with someone else's vision."

Rich Phaender, assistant to Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto, said the proposal is not set in stone, but rather a working document. "It is a traffic component of a larger plan, which is the Hicksville Hamlet Plan," said Phaender. "Whether that document goes anyplace as it is printed today depends on the input from everyone. It is not a done deal [and] it is not being shoved down anybody's throat."

John Kuch, treasurer of the Midland Civic Association and a member of the Hicksville Hamlet Plan Committee, said, "We want the feedback. We want the ideas to come back, but we also want the solutions to come back, too."

As it stands, the proposed plan 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). Extensive surveys of local traffic in and around the downtown were performed to determine traffic flow patterns and to determine where vehicles enter and exit the downtown and its surrounding roadways. The results of the studies showed the need for additional east-west roadways through Hicksville.

To do so, current roadways such as West Barclay Street and Duffy Avenue would have to be widened and extended. At the same time, Jerusalem Avenue, south of West John Street, would be closed as would 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.

The proposed plan would also eliminate access to various Jerusalem Avenue businesses, including the Empire Diner, Dalton Funeral Home and the Ella Marie School of Dance as well as existing commuter parking lots and businesses located in various strip malls.

"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 in a previous article. "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."

In addition to creating new roadways, the proposal calls for the elimination of some 400 parking spaces, including the decimation of commercial parking lots owned by both Roche and Paul Boucher. With parking already difficult at the station during the workweek, residents said the elimination of parking would make things worse.

Cliff Sondock of Spiegel Associates, however, suggested that there may be ways in which the roadway changes could benefit the community. "I live in Huntington, but obviously my company has a vested interest here...If we could work out something where Hicksville could have better transportation to get to the railroad [with] all these major thoroughfares coming through here, this could be the center of Long Island."

Residents disagree. "What about the community?" said Anthony Sorvillo of the NorthWest Civic Association. "That's the only consideration. It has been proven that widening the roads [during the 1960s] destroyed Hicksville to start with and now they want to do it again."

In a previous article, Dalton said, "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."

One solution to Hicksville's traffic and parking problem, said Sorvillo, would be to reopen the Islandia Long Island Railroad Station. "The Islandia Station was closed without considering the impact it was going to have bringing all those commuters here," he said. "The only purpose for that traffic is to get on the train and off the train. That is what's jamming up Hicksville right now. If they reopened the Islandia Station, the Town of Oyster Bay has brown lands there capable of parking 1,600 cars. The commuters that don't do business in Hicksville can get off the Long Island Expressway, park right at the [Islandia] station, go to New York and come back without jamming up Hicksville. All this is unnecessary."

Martha Offerman, town clerk for the Town of Oyster Bay, said she is currently working with the Long Island Railroad in the hope of getting the Islandia Station reopened. Of the 37,000 parking permits distributed biannually throughout the town, there are only 4,000 parking spaces available in Hicksville.

Roche, who spearheaded this week's meeting, said, "The transportation people are going to have to tell us how these roads are going to help downtown Hicksville. The opposition to the roadway plan is as strong as ever." So far more than 1,300 residents and business owners have signed petitions denouncing the plan. "We still have yet to meet anybody who sees how these two roads are going to help Hicksville," said Roche.

A public meeting with Clarke Associates, the Department of Transportation and the Town of Oyster Bay is planned for next week. At this time, Roche said the business owners and residents plan to voice their concerns. "The opposition to the plan has grown even more," he said. "This coalition is getting stronger and stronger. The people of Hicksville are not going to back down."

The meeting will take place at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, March 13 at the VFW Hall, 320 South Broadway, Hicksville. All are welcome to attend.