The New York State Department of Transportation is currently considering a plan to add extra turning lanes to Hempstead Turnpike where the road intersects with Wantagh Avenue in Levittown. The east and westbound turning lanes onto Gardiners and Jerusalem Avenues will be extended but there are no plans to widen that section of the road at this time.

The expansion plan, according to New York State Assemblywoman Kathleen Murray, who has been in contact with the DOT in regard to the proposal, would involve adding right hand turn lanes and an additional left hand turn lane onto Wantagh Avenue going north. The addition would bring that section of Hempstead Turnpike up to nine lanes and would require the DOT to cut into the properties of the Getty station at the corner, the Wantagh-Levittown Ambulance Corp, and the Meineke Muffler and Brakes Station.

Hanna Harel, the vice president of the Meineke Station, which has been in the community for almost 23 years, has been the loudest voice in opposition to the expansion of the turnpike. The proposal would cut 12 feet from their property, eliminating all their parking spaces, thus possibly causing the closure of the store. Meineke currently services the Levittown, Island Trees and Plainedge School District buses, the Levittown and Bethpage Postal trucks, and the Wantagh-Levittown Ambulance Corps vehicles. It took the business four years to obtain all the permits necessary to open their store at the present location and at no time were the owners informed that the DOT was considering this expansion and that they could cut into their property. The DOT explained that this is a process of eminent domain, meaning that they can do it because they feel it is for the good of the public.

Harel says despite the threat to her business, her main concern is pedestrian safety. She noted, "Nine lanes, without a median, is a very dangerous situation for everyone in the community. We are half a block from a school and there is another school, the high school, within two blocks."

Harel's concerns are echoed by Officer Lawrence Gilrain, a training officer for the 8th precinct. He stated, "I think it is going to be a nightmare for my crossing guard down there because now she's exposed to six lanes on each side, which is 12 lanes diagonally, instead of the usual six. She's got double the work."

Eileen Peters, a representative from the DOT's Regional Director's Office, stated, "We do understand that there has been some controversy. We have met with a number of members of the community, particularly Hanna at Meineke and we have made several revisions that I believe she is still not happy with at this time so we're taking another look at it." Peters added, "We are trying to work something out but this is a situation that is most difficult for us here at the DOT because safety is our first and foremost obligation, safety of all the motorists and traveling public, whether you are on a bicycle, or you're walking, or whatever you are doing, and balancing it with the needs of the residential and business community." The DOT is hoping to reduce traffic accident rates with the additional lanes.

Officer Gilrain does not believe that the extra turning lanes are the solution. He stated, "Part of the problem is that the arrow going north and south on Wantagh Avenue to go east or west on the turnpike, once the arrow goes off THE that light changes to green which gives them [motorists] an opportunity to turn when the oncoming traffic's coming. Whereas eastbound-westbound on the turnpike, the arrow, once it goes off, stays red and you can't make the turn." Gilrain stated that most of the accidents, approximately 75 percent, occur with the vehicles heading north and south on Wantagh Avenue, many when the motorists try to sneak into the intersection to make the turn onto Hempstead Turnpike. The difference in the turn signals is because Wantagh Avenue is a county road and Hempstead Turnpike is a state road.

Because the turnpike is a state road many state officials, including Senator Kemp Hannon have been brought into the discussions about the expansion, although the DOT does not necessarily need any approval in order to add turning lanes. Hannon has sent a letter to the DOT expressing several concerns that he has about the project. He stated, "The guy from the DOT keeps claiming safety but I look at it and think, 'this gets really big,' so is this really justified because what type of precedent does this set for the rest of the turnpike?"

The precedent that the expansion may set is also a concern of Harel who said, "It is going to set a precedent for the entire turnpike...This is a big issue. The DOT does not need to give any notification nor get any OK in order to put turning lanes in. That is the way the DOT adds extra lanes to a community, by starting with turning lanes where they don't need someone to officially OK it, they get their foot in the door and then they can eventually add those full lanes, which is a tremendous process." The DOT refutes the suggestion that they have plans to expand the whole turnpike to nine lanes.

The issue of the number of lanes on the turnpike is a major one right now because of the concerns for pedestrian safety. Within a month of each other two Levittown residents were killed crossing Hempstead Turnpike. On June 10, 22-year-old Vivian Correa was struck when crossing Hempstead Turnpike at Berger Avenue, two tenths of a mile east of the Wantagh Avenue intersection. On July 2, 11-year-old Michael Fortunato was struck crossing Hempstead Turnpike at Jerusalem Avenue, just one mile west of the Wantagh Avenue intersection.

Many residents fear that the additional lanes will compromise pedestrian safety even further. Approximately 1500 residents have already signed petitions that Harel has, objecting to the widening of the turnpike. Peters stated, "Pedestrian safety is incorporated in all of our jobs and the last I heard about this particular intersection was that there were going to be crossing signals. I know that there are plans for pedestrian cross walks, for pedestrian crossing signals in that area and I'm sure some safety information signs." Additional time would also be allowed for people to cross the road. Peters added, "While we can put in all the necessary signs and traffic controls we do not control driver behavior. We are not behind the wheel of those cars, we do not control traffic volume, nor driver behavior. We can only put in as many controls as the requirements and engineering standards allow and say our prayers that people will adhere to them and be smart, considerate drivers." Peters said that the DOT believes that the expansion of the turnpike will increase pedestrian safety because with less traffic congestion there will be less driver impatience. Without this driver impatience, Peters believes that there will be less pedestrian accidents because when motorists become impatient they tend not to be as careful when driving.

Another concern that has been raised by Hannon and others is how the Target that is being built on the corner of Hempstead Turnpike and Wantagh Avenue will affect the traffic patterns already studied by the DOT. There are currently plans to expand Wantagh Avenue to add additional turning lanes as well, which the DOT says will deflect the additional traffic caused by Target.

At an April meeting about the expansion concerns were raised about the noise on the turnpike and a suggestion was made that a noise wall be added to the plans. Another suggestion made was that rather than putting companies such as the Ambulance Corps and Meineke out of business, shifting the turnpike so that 12 inches would be taken from the wide sidewalk on the north side of Hempstead Turnpike instead of the south side.

As the Department of Transportation studies the concerns raised and the suggestions made, they have yet to make a final determination about the expansion. If they decide to proceed with the proposal, work on the turnpike could begin in the Spring of 2000.