Nassau Residents Demand Long-Awaited Traffic Light At Dangerous Garden City Intersection
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Long Island residents are asking why their county is dragging its feet to put up a traffic light at a dangerous intersection.
It's the scene of dozens of recent accidents, including one Monday afternoon.
Another day, another fender bender or worse at the intersection of Cathedral Avenue and Third Street in Garden City.
"The volume is just like a funnel," homeowner Kerry DeLuca told CBS2's Jennifer McLogan. "People stop, but then they tend to go when there isn't when they don't have enough time to go."
It results in more than 30 crashes in the past year, most of which DeLuca has recorded on her cell phone. Cars upended and flipped, landing on lawns and taking down signs.
Neighborhood children are told to avoid the area, and even adults aren't comfortable crossing.
"People don't anticipate someone's going to pull out," one driver said. "That can be dangerous."
Other nearby intersections have four-way stops, and in some cases traffic lights.
"We've been fighting for the traffic light and we fought and fought and finally had it approved by the county on September 21st," DeLuca said.
While the county has measured, surveyed, and studied the area, there's still no light. Village police report ten more accidents at the intersection since September 21st.
"I don't know why it hasn't been a priority or what it's going to take," DeLuca said.
Some blame app-based navigation systems guiding drivers from Mineola and Hempstead to the Parkways.
"I believe it's because of GPS and Waze," DeLuca said. "The entire village is a cut-through, but especially this area, our block, because there's no traffic light."
Nassau officials say the county has contracted to begin construction, but it does not yet have a timetable for a light or pedestrian walkway. Meanwhile, homeowners and pedestrians will eventually be able to weigh in on the type of crosswalk that will be installed.
