A dispute over roadway ownership and maintenance will have to take a back seat to public safety, Mayor said at Tuesday’s meeting as he moved to fix a potentially dangerous intersection.
The intersection of Brewster Street and Glen Cove Avenue has been the source of consternation for motorists and a politically charged issue for the City as it has tried to get Nassau County, which owns and is responsible for maintaining Route 107, to fix the latest problem.
At issue: The double yellow road divider as 107 dead ends with Brewster has faded, to the point where motorists turning southbound from Brewster have mistaken part of the northbound roadway as theirs.
“When you make the left off of Brewster Street to head to the highway there are five lanes; two going south toward 107 and four coming in from the library going up the street or up Glen Cove Ave,” Suozzi said. “The yellow line in the middle has disappeared. It was probably painted down. The City has asked the county to restripe it.”
The issue was first brought up during the public comment session when a local asked: “Can’t we withhold payments to the county so Glen Cove can get the double lines?”
Councilman Anthony Jimenez interjected: “I just want to throw in my two cents. It is very dangerous. Twice last week I had oncoming traffic in my lane.”
While Suozzi stressed concern over taking over any liability issues that go with maintaining the road, he said now was the time to do it, not only because of the public hazard but the warmer weather too.
The City already bought the materials, Suozzi said, and could move to do the one-day project as soon as the weekend.
“There’s been a discussion about who owns the road,” Suozzi said. “The county still plows it. When they reconstructed the road [mid-decade], I believe the county gave it to us but we never accepted it. Legally we don’t own it. It’s been a source of disagreement. But public safety isn’t. So at the end of the day, we’re moving ahead using county spec – which we follow anyway – and putting the product down and we’ll work out the rest later.”
