Speeding motorists and what to do about them was a topic of concern for many residents at the June 4 Massapequa Park Village Board meeting.

"We are a close-knit block and all of our children play out in front of the houses," said William Hare, a resident of 170 Pacific St. in Massapequa Park. "We are worried about their safety."

"I've recently helped scrape someone off the pavement from a motorcycle accident that was partially due to a speeder," said another resident who lives between the busy byways of Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road.

Hare came to the meeting bearing a petition with over 60 names of residents in the area who were requesting that a stop sign be put at the intersection of Pacific St. and Connecticut Ave. for the primary reason of slowing down traffic. He was met by other residents who shared his concerns. According to residents present at the meeting, the number of speeders going at faster and faster speeds has increased in recent years.

"We are very concerned about speeding and we take it very seriously," Lt. Karl Schoepp of the 7th Precinct told The Massapequan Observer. "We get four or five calls a day from people about speeding, and the number of phone calls seems to be increasing. It is definitely a pervasive problem all over the place."

Village Mayor James Altadonna was also sympathetic to the residents' plight. "I understand the dangers of speeding motorists," he told them. "I have three young children of my own."

Altadonna said that the village had recently completed a stop sign study, and the board was waiting to receive that information to decide what action to take. However, he assured residents that their request for a stop sign at the Pacific/Connecticut intersection would be considered in a timely fashion.

Although an East-West stop sign stands at that intersection, there is nothing to slow down motorists traveling southbound. "We realize stop signs aren't put up to deal with speed, but everyone knows they do slow people down," Hare said. He cited property damage and damage to the vehicles parked around the intersection due to numerous accidents caused by speeders. He also stressed his concerns about the 22 young children on the block who play outside near the street.

Residents suggested greater police presence in the area, as well as more radar-determined signs that display a motorist's rate of speed to help slow things down. However, Lt. Schoepp expressed his frustration with both possible solutions to the speeding problem. "I don't have enough manpower to put someone on every single street," he said. We get complaints about numerous locations and we do the best we can to cover them, but the officers have other responsibilities. We are currently at critical staffing levels and we are trying to maintain those levels without having to start paying overtime."

As far as the radar-determined signs, Nassau County has only a few of them, and the Town of Oyster Bay only has one, according to Schoepp. "I share one with two other precincts," he explained. "I get it every month for two weeks, and I have other locations to cover, not just the Village of Massapequa Park. In all these years, I've only had one radar cop."

He also said that in his experience, the radar signs don't work. "Initially, when people see them, they slow down. After a couple of days of seeing them, they go back to speeding. People who are prone to speed, speed. People who get one speeding ticket usually get another."

Finally, Lt. Schoepp urged residents with young children to do their best to keep them out of the street. "It's one solution to the problem."