The message was loud and clear. Residents living along the Long Island Rail Road's (LIRR) 11.5-mile Main Line Corridor do not - under any circumstance - want a third - or fourth or fifth - track installed. They do, however, welcome the elimination of on-grade crossings in New Hyde Park (Covert Avenue, 12th Street and New Hyde Park Road), Westbury (School Street) and New Cassel (Urban Avenue) and believe that phase of the LIRR's highly controversial Main Line Corridor Improvements Project be tackled now.

In order to collect input from local communities for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the LIRR held its first of three public scoping meetings June 14 at Jericho Terrace in Mineola. Residents and elected officials alike - from several of the nine villages to be affected by the mega project - urged that the MTA/LIRR derail the third track proposal altogether.

The EIS will be prepared in 2006 while public hearings are slated for early 2007. The final EIS, which will document the elected course of action, is expected in the summer of 2007 with a record of decision anticipated later that year. Construction is not slated to begin until 2009, with an estimated project completion date sometime in 2016.

Many fear the increased running of freight along the Main Line is the underlying reason behind the possible third track installation, although Elisa Pica, LIRR's chief planning officer, assured otherwise. Others simply don't buy the projections that such an "improvement" will help accommodate increased ridership and reverse peak service, especially in light of the fact that increased fares recently went into effect to offset decreased ridership.

Moreover, people fear for their homes. As stated in the scoping document, prepared by DMJM Harris, the LIRR's environmental consultant, "some property acquisition may be necessary in order to construct a new continuous additional track and for some station area and roadway grade crossing improvements" although the LIRR anticipates that "most" of the Main Line Corridor proposed improvements could take place within the existing right-of-way.

Prior to a determination of which property must be acquired, analysis of the pros and cons of several approaches will be conducted as part of the evaluation of alternatives. County tax maps and data included in the project Geographic Information System (GIS) data set will be integral in assessing the approximate amount of land necessary for acquisition.

The scoping document further notes that property identified for acquisition, as part of the Draft EIS, may not ultimately be required in order to construct the project. Final decisions regarding property acquisition will be taken after the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issues a Record of Decision (due out in late 2007). The final design of facilities will determine exact property needs and the needs will be verified with detailed survey data.

The area under study is one of the most densely traveled corridors in the region; it extends from Queens Village east to Hicksville. Stations in the corridor currently under evaluation include Queens Village, Bellerose, Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Merillon Avenue in Garden City, Mineola, Carle Place, Westbury and Hicksville.

The EIS will consider alternatives to meet passenger service needs - build alternatives and a no-build alternative will be evaluated. The build alternatives include different track alignments, including northern alignments, southern alignments and alignments that combine the two. LIRR officials do not know which alignment is likely at this time.

The no-build or "do nothing" alternative would eliminate construction of a third track as well as station and grade crossing improvements altogether. "This alternative will be used as a basis of comparison to understand the effects of the build alternatives," Pica noted.

The concept of adding another track to the Main Line is not new; talk has been circulating for years. Many suggested the MTA/LIRR take the money earmarked for the installation of an additional track and use it to begin eliminating the on-grade crossings.

Mineola Mayor Jack M. Martins was first to speak at the meeting. Mayor Martins said before the community is asked whether to take on the burden of a third track, more information needs to be provided."Time and again, communities are asked to bear the burden of development of an entire region. In this particular instance, I speak of my community here in Mineola. When you say this will benefit all of Long Island, you have to take into consideration the fact that although all of Long Island will benefit, there are precious few communities that are going to be asked to bear that burden," Mayor Martins said. "I think you also have to show us why your projections are what they are and why this will make a difference. We have homes along this track and people are scared. They don't know what a third track will mean. Let us know."

Mayor Martins also argued that the proposed elimination of the grade crossings should be done regardless of the third track. "I don't think anyone here would argue that we should not have these grade crossings eliminated. But the elimination of those grade crossings should not be held up because of this third track. Let's look at the eliminations independently from the third track," he said.

The grade crossings being talked about as part of the project include Covert Avenue in New Hyde Park, 12th Street in New Hyde Park, New Hyde Park Road in New Hyde Park, School Street in Westbury and Urban Avenue in New Cassel.

Mineola Village Trustee Paul Cusato pointed out that the roadway grade crossings being talked about as part of the project do not include the one on Willis Avenue and the one on Main Street in Mineola. "That means we will still have the air quality problem; we will still have the noise; we'll still have the traffic congestion and we'll still have the train horns. I think it's unfair," he said.

Mineola Deputy Mayor expressed concern over the impact to the backyards and neighborhoods the track may run through.

Mineola Village Trustee Fairgrieve agreed with Mayor Martins' assessment for the residents' need for information and more assessment. She also said all grade crossings should be eliminated even if there is no third track. Trustee Fairgrieve also communicated that she needs to be convinced that freight isn't the reason for the third track. "I need more information concerning this freight especially considering this capital report I have," she said.

Of course, no meeting in Mineola would be complete without comments from resident Sal Cataldo, who first said it was a disgrace that there was no presence of an American flag at the meeting or a moment of silence for the troops fighting overseas.

Cataldo expressed distrust in the MTA. "Mineola is taking a beating. We lost a lot of property off the tax rolls," Cataldo said, referring to the LIRR taking ownership of the KeySpan building on Old Country Road for the intermodal center, a proposed 1,000-car parking garage for Mineola.

Rosealeen Shea, co-chair of the Long Island Rail Road Committee in Bellerose Village, questioned the project's funding. "Floral Park Mayor Phil Guarnieri and State Senator Mike Balboni have their priorities right by urging the MTA/LIRR to undertake the elimination of grade crossings first and keep them completely separate from the third track mega project. The MTA/LIRR's own budget reveals that they are in fact two separate spending items.

"The grade crossings project is budgeted for $60.3 million in 2008 and another $20 million in 2009. The third track project is budgeted for $4.5 million in 2007 and another $117.8 million in 2009. In addition, the MTA/LIRR is only budgeting for its share of spending for the three grade crossing eliminations in the New Hyde Park vicinity. If funding gets tight, or if no other arm of government comes up with any missing portions for these grade elimination projects, there's no guarantee that the project's handful of grade crossings will in fact be eliminated," Shea continued.

Shea pointed out an even greater concern. "The MTA/LIRR only budgeted for Phase I, with its construction impacting neighborhoods from eastern Queens to Mineola, while Phase II, which targets Mineola to Hicksville, is not yet funded. Communities within the Phase I construction zone face the possibility that - despite being asked to endure years of construction, including the destruction of greenery and the condemnation of property - there is no lock box guarantee that Phase II from Mineola to Hicksville will ever be completed. The MTA/LIRR must focus on taking care of the facilities it has now rather than continuing to spend our taxpayers' dollars with such irrational exuberance," she said.

William Corbett of Floral Park, who spoke as a small business owner at the 4 to 6 p.m. session, spoke that evening as president of Floral Park's West End Civic Association. "First off, I don't think anyone is against the elimination of the rail crossings," he said to rousing applause.

John Kennedy, president of the Nassau-Suffolk Building Trades Council, which represents over 60,000 construction workers, was the sole speaker who urged the MTA/LIRR to move the project forward. "Our members and their families are not only interested in the jobs that this proposed project will offer them but the reliable, clean source of transportation that will be available on Long Island now and in the future ... The dollars spent on this project that will employ our members will be returned to this region three times over ... Building at this time is an investment that makes economic sense."

Another scoping meeting was planned for Thursday, June 16, at Floral Terrace in Floral Park and there is a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 21, at Antun's in Hicksville. All comments from each meeting will be entered into a project record. Additional comments can be submitted in writing to Peter Palamaro, LIRR Public Affairs, Jamaica Station, 1131, Jamaica, NY 11435, prior to Aug. 31. Visit www.mta.info/mta/planning/mainline for more project information and future project updates.