Village of Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender is proud of the strides the village has taken to address safety concerns for motorists and pedestrians with its on-going traffic calming initiative.
So when Celender recently noticed that the some of the village’s “motorist speed awareness” and “advance pedestrian illuminated” devices, which are suspended over several local roadways, were not functioning properly, the mayor took action.
During its regular meeting last Wednesday, the Great Neck Plaza Board of Trustees authorized a purchase order with Welsbach Electric Corp. to repair and maintain the traffic safety devices.
“To have them out there and not have them functioning is frustrating to me,” Celender said of the broken signs. “We need a company that can handle that.”
Welsbach Electrical Corp. will fix the village’s broken signs and make sure the devices stay in working order on a monthly basis at a cost of $30 per device, which will cost the village an estimated $2,500 a year, Celender said.
“I went out and made some contacts,” the mayor said. “I found the electrical company that’s doing the contracts for the county. I got a quote from them and they’re giving us a very good price quote that is better than the county contract.”
There are four “motorist speed awareness” signs located in different sections of the one-third of a square-mile village. The signs, which use radar to monitor drivers’ speed, are suspended on poles above South Middle Neck Road, Grace Avenue, Great Neck Road and Cutter Mill Road.
The village also maintains five “advance pedestrian illuminated” devices, which alert motorists to high-pedestrian-traffic areas at mid-block crossings on the east and west sides of South Station Plaza and North Station Plaza, along with Grace Avenue.
Although Great Neck Plaza Commissioner of Public Services Michael Sweeney attempted to have the signs fixed, local crews were unable to make necessary repairs.
“Mike has tried to get our lighting maintenance contractor out to fix them,” Celender said. “They did their best, but they can’t get into the controller units. They didn’t have the necessary equipment to fix the speed awareness (signs).”
With Welsbach Electric Corp. now authorized to begin work, the village’s roads will again be made safer due to its traffic calming signs, Celender said.
“They will repair and maintain those overhead speed awareness and the advanced pedestrian illuminated devices so that they’re all up and operating,” Celender said. “They’ll repair them on a monthly basis going forward.”
Any necessary repairs and the work to provide upkeep for the properly operating devices will begin immediately, Celender said.
“$2,500 a year, which is what this contract computes to, I think, is a bargain,” village Trustee Gerald Schneiderman said.
Great Neck Plaza’s “traffic calming initiative” is a program funded primarily by the state Department of Transportation’s “Local Safe Streets and Traffic Calming” grants. The program’s goals are to use roundabouts, signs and a reduction in the number of through lanes to promote traffic safety on the village’s roads.
The board also voted during last week’s meeting to schedule a public hearing on a proposed policy for snow removal around village fire hydrants. The public hearing will be held during the board’s regular meeting at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Celender said the need for the policy came after a discussion she recently had with Great Neck Vigilant Fire Company First Assistant Fire Chief Laurence Jacobs.
After last winter’s massive snowfall amounts caused problems for Vigilant when responding to commercial properties, Celender said the fire company wanted to ensure that similar episodes did not occur this year.
“They want to be out ahead on this one this winter to try to ensure that snow will be removed properly from fire hydrants and that we put the onus of that responsibility onto the adjoining property owners as we do with the snow removal for sidewalk cleaning,” Celender said.
In response to Vigilant’s concerns, Sweeney did a survey of the village to account for the location of its 52 fire hydrants.
The board discussed amending its policy to enforce residents and business owners to clear snow at a two-foot radius around the hydrant, while also clearing a path to any standpipes connected to their buildings.
“This is just a starting point,” Celender said. “This is what was introduced to me. They said ‘can we do this?’ If you feel we can do better and improve on it and add the other factors that are important to the fire department, I think they’d be happy.”
Sweeney said this policy will mostly effect commercial properties as only nine fire hydrants are located on residential dwellings. He expects residents to respond positively to the issue of clearing snow around hydrants in an effort to assist Vigilant.
“The majority of the people, once they’re informed of the responsibility (they will do it),” Sweeney said. “They get the direct benefit of the fire hydrant on their property.”
Reach reporter John Santa by e-mail at jsanta@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x203
