CBS2 Exclusive: Residents Say They Were Blindsided By Change To Allow Big Rigs On South Oyster Bay Road
HICKSVILLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Big trucks are causing bid headaches on Long Island, as New York state has turned a suburban road into a major truck route.
And as CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported exclusively Friday, residents said they were the last to know.
The big rigs have suddenly been seen barreling down South Oyster Bay Road – a three-mile stretch through Syosset, Plainview, Hicksville, and Bethpage that is lined with homes and businesses.
From her kitchen, Edie Ammerata started keeping a log. She counted 36 big trucks in one morning.
"I'm going, 'I don't recall seeing these size trucks on this road,'" Ammerata said.
"The community was pretty well blindsided," a man from the area added.
When asked what kind of input the public had on the change to the road, resident Tanya Lukasik said "absolutely none."
After digging around, Lukasik found the appearance of big trucks was no coincidence. The New York State Department of Transportation recently approved a new designation for South Oyster Bay Road – it is now an "access highway."
That means a previous 48-foot truck limit can now be exceeded to allow 53-foot trucks and tandem trucks.
"It's not only changes the suburban character," Lukasik said. "It also tremendously impacts the environment, public safety, public health noise."
"It's taking a residential roadway and turning it into an expressway," an area man added.
The access highway application was filed by FedEx, which is building a Freight Hub in Bethpage. Off the
Long Island Expressway, it is a straight shot south.
The state Department of Transportation said it notified the Town of Oyster Nay and Nassau County. But with no objections, it approved the FedEx request in December.
But one official said no one heard about the proposal to begin with.
"Nobody -- be it civic groups or elected officials -- ever heard of an access road request before," said Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs.
Jacobs said the process needs to change.
"We shouldn't be blindsided -- much less the public," she said.
CBS2 reached out to both the Town of Oyster Bay and Nassau County officials. They said they are asking the DOT to rescind the designation, so as to give the public a chance to weigh in.
The DOT told CBS2 it only puts the breaks on an access highway designation if the road has a severe history of accidents. FedEx told CBS2 it expands its network in response to increasing customer demand and complies with all local, state and federal regulations.
