As a community mourns the death of a Levittown student who was struck by a truck while crossing Hempstead Turnpike, the Department of Transportation considers widening the already busy six-lane turnpike to nine lanes.

It seems almost unreal that these two things can be going on at the same time. Add in the fact that 11-year-old Michael Fortunato was the second death in a 1.2 mile stretch of Hempstead Turnpike in the last month and it seems more than just unreal, it seems almost inhumane.

Hempstead Turnpike is the "Main Street" of Levittown. The major businesses in the community are located on the turnpike and most Levittowners drive on Hempstead Turnpike almost daily to get where they are going. Several other major roads, such as Gardiners Avenue and Wantagh Avenue come right off the turnpike. Many residents use these thoroughfares to get to many of the schools in Levittown and Island Trees. Island Trees Middle and High School are almost at the exact site where the expansion is being planned. Considering all these factors, how safe is it to try and cross Hempstead Turnpike, at any time of the day?

Everyone, including the DOT, says that safety is their main concern, but how true is this? The DOT needs to carefully consider the risk to pedestrians, especially children walking to and from school, if Hempstead Turnpike is expanded. Will anyone be able to live with the consequences if more people die because of the traffic on the turnpike?

The DOT's main considerations with the expansion are reducing traffic accidents. They have made some considerations of pedestrian safety but it does not seem to be enough to ensure the safety of people trying to cross nine lanes of traffic, especially considering the proximity to schools.

Westbury had to deal with a similar issue, with the high school being located on Jericho Turnpike, a road similar to Hempstead Turnpike. It seems as though a solution was found in that situation that could benefit nearly everyone (except for the business owners who would be affected by the expansion) in Levittown. If a pedestrian bridge were built across Hempstead Turnpike then pedestrians crossing would be safe and the traffic congestion would be reduced by the additional turning lanes. The cost of building the pedestrian bridge could not even come close to the loss of a life of someone trying to cross nine lanes of traffic, with no median.