Since last summer, Legislator Judy Jacobs has successfully lobbied for the completion of improvements to two dangerous intersections affecting Woodbury residents. Now Jacobs turns her attention to a third, where the scenic Woodbury Road meets the foliage-lined Syosset-Woodbury Road along a hillside.

In was Dec. 8, 1997 when the Public Works Committee of the Nassau County Legislature approved a Department of Public Works-sponsored project to improve the intersection, which the DPW recognized as a problem. That same day, the proposed project went to the Finance Committee, where it was apparently tabled, and fizzled out. Jacobs wants to revive the project again, before one of the "close calls" that occur there turns into a nightmare.

The well-traveled, but narrow Woodbury Road stretches north to the Suffolk line. Syosset-Woodbury Road intercepts, and ends, at Woodbury Road, leading eastbound drivers down a curved, angular steep decline as they approach the county road. "No matter in which direction you are traveling, nor on which road, there is no safe way to go through this intersection," said Jacobs.

Visibility is obscured from both roads, as northbound Woodbury Road drivers attempt a tricky, hard-to-spot left on Syosset-Woodbury Road and Syosset-Woodbury Road drivers attempt to merge with Woodbury Road traffic.

Plans from the proposed DPW project, said DPW spokesman Jim Ahearn, include taking out part of the hillside and constructing a wall, making the intersection perpendicular, briefly widening Woodbury Road to two lanes, creating a left turn only lane and installing a traffic signal.

This project was scaled down from an unpopular proposal created years ago to widen Woodbury Road all the way to Suffolk County. According to Ahearn, the main concern about this new project is the look of the hillside wall. "They don't want a concrete monster out there," said Ahearn. Therefore, the DPW is considering such options as a natural wall, on which ivy would grow, allowing it to blend in with the environment.

The cost of the overall project has yet to be determined, but, according to Ahearn, that would not be a reason it would be held up in a committee. The Finance Committee could approve it now, and vote again once a price is set.

The plans are supported by the Hunting Hills Civic Association, but Jacobs also has asked that individual residents express their opinion to Finance Committee Chairman Legislator John Ciotti. The Tribune called Ciotti's office to learn of the project's status, but the legislator was unavailable. Jacobs said that she, herself, has received about 200 responses.

Jacobs said that some residents have said that they've actually refused to use the roadway until it's remedied. "Some of the comments have been, 'Instead of sacrificing our lives, we'd rather sacrifice our time and go another way,'" said Jacobs.

"We feel this improvement project has been delayed long enough and the residents of this county are entitled to safe, efficient roads upon which to travel," stated Jacobs.

Jacobs has established a reputation of attacking traffic problems that have developed in the community. She recently convinced the DPW to install a left turn signal at Piquets Lane and Jericho Turnpike, and, with the help of Town Councilman Leonard Symons and Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta, successfully had a traffic light installed at the intersection of Manetto Hill Road and the Northern State Parkway.