We won’t pretend to be experts on every issue, and road engineering is certainly one of them. It’s a complex process that requires multiple heads, collective years of experience, and the ability to take onslaughts of arrows.
The mission to remediate the deathly “curve” along County Route 93, Rosevale and Ocean Avenues in Ronkonkoma, has been ongoing for decades. The curve was put into place in a horrible decision back when the traffic and population densities were nowhere near what they are today. The trees between the northbound and southbound lanes of the curve were removed ten years ago and the curve was altered in a way that many believe made the stretch of road worse than it was.
Speeding, accidents, run-off-road accidents, and even fatalities have been regular occurrences at the notorious curve, which has limited visibility and is made even more treacherous by side streets and homes near it.
Last year, the Department of Public Works (DPW) drafted a plan to “road diet” the majority of Rosevale and Ocean Avenues, which would have seen the transition of the outside lanes into bike lanes, leaving vehicular traffic with just one lane for travel. The plan sparked near-unanimous outrage from the community and raised concerns of congestion and decreased quality of life in the area that is regularly traversed by residents of all three of our towns of coverage.
At last week’s meeting, the DPW, at the behest of the community, local legislators, and the Greater Ronkonkoma Civic Association, unveiled their altered plan to just shrink the lanes within the curve, ease the curvature of the road to increase visibility, and restrict certain turns onto Ocean Avenue from some side streets. Other safety measures were also deemed feasible, such as rumble strips and regular police patrol.
While not a perfect plan, as the community has agreed over the years that there is no “perfect” plan for the curve, this one is monumentally better than the one presented last year. The plan essentially makes the best of a bad situation and the DPW said that if the plan does not live up to expected improved safety and traffic flow metrics, restoring the curve to its present state is an easy job and studies can continue.
It’s important to make lemonade when life hands you lemons, and we thank the DPW for making lemonade instead of stuffing the lemons down our throats until we see yellow.
This glass of lemonade is far more palatable than the one they poured us last year, and while not everyone might enjoy it, it’s certainly a better, taller glass than last year’s model.
The Messenger endorses the plan and thanks the County DPW, the Greater Ronkonkoma Civic Association, Legislator Trish Bergin (R-East Islip), Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset), and of course, the community for their input and tenacity in ensuring a feasible, realistic plan is put into place.