A comprehensive Nassau County traffic survey is currently under way for Salisbury Park Drive, the county road that winds from Old Country Road in Westbury to Newbridge Road in East Meadow, a representative for the traffic division of the county's Department of Public Works reported this week.

According to Ray Ribeiro, assistant director of traffic engineering for the Nassau County Department of Public Works, engineers conducting the survery are looking at signal operations, pavement markings and accident data that has been received from the county police department. Ribiero said the survey evolved from isolated studies of specific parts of the road done over several years in response to traffic and safety concerns from local residents and the civic association representing Salisbury, the Community Association of Stewart Avenue.

"We are currently conducting a real, in-depth, intensive study of the entire area," said Ribiero, noting that the survey includes not only Salisbury Park Drive, but also the roads which with it intersects, such as Carman Avenue.

Within the past month, the traffic division has begun to pull together information on the road gathered over the years, in order to address what many local residents believe are hazardous traffic conditions. According to Ribiero, a fatal accident on Salisbury Park Drive in October prompted renewed safety concerns among local residents.

Ribiero noted that engineers are still in the process of collecting data, and are therefore still doing field work on the road, studying such factors as signal timing, to determine whether this needs to be changed. In addition, the traffic division is continuing to review accident data from the past three years. No conclusions have yet been drawn from the study, which is expected to continue for at least a few more months, noted Ribiero. "We're in the preliminary stages," he said.

For years, Salisbury residents and civic leaders have voiced concern about speeding and other traffic issues on Salisbury Park Drive. As development occurred alongside the road, such as the Knolls senior housing complex, and traffic increased, the Community Association of Stewart Avenue has worked with the county traffic division, police and the Town of Hempstead to address safety concerns, according to Beverlee Szimanski, president of the civic association. For example, in the mid-1990s, the group successfully pushed for a Town of Hempstead ordinance reducing the speed limit from 40 miles-per-hour to 30 miles-per-hour. Szimanski wished to assure Salisbury residents that the civic association has been monitoring the traffic situation for at least the past 10 years, and is providing input in the current traffic survey. She noted that the civic association has proposed installing larger traffic signals, particularly at the accident-prone intersection of Salisbury Park Drive and Carman Avenue, to address the danger of driver inattention, which is a possible accident cause. The group has also requested that passing be prohibited in the two-lane section of the road, in an effort to make that area safer. Representing the civic association, Szimanski has also asked police to step up enforcement of the speed limit, and they have cooperated, she noted.

Szimanski commended Inspector Vincent Muscarnera of the county's 3rd Police Precinct for his responsiveness in addressing the need for increased enforcement. She added that, at the request of county police, state highway patrol has also been beefed up on the road. In addition, the Town of Hempstead has helped the situation by installing traffic signs in various areas of the road as needed, for example, 30 mile-per-hour speed limit signs throughout the entire stretch, according to Szimanski. The civic organization's president noted that, over the years, the group has consistently worked with the county traffic division, police, and town to mitigate traffic dangers as soon as a problem arises.

"It has been steady and ongoing," she assured. She added that the group is determined to make the intersections less accident-prone and to curtail speeding. Szimanski encouraged local residents to learn more about the work that has been done, and is currently under way, on the Salisbury Park Drive traffic issue. It will be one topic on the agenda of the Community Association of Stewart Avenue's next general meeting, set for Nov. 27 at Bowling Green School at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome at the meeting, Szimanski said.