The Left Turn Not Taken

Much of the headaches, confusion and consternation caused by traffic changes at the Long Island Railroad tracks in Little Neck is the result of one policy directive by the city Department of Transportation, according to Westmoreland Association president Walter Mugdan.

"They really don't want motorists making that left turn," Mugdan said, referring to vehicles traveling north on Little Neck Parkway looking to make a turn west towards Douglas Manor on Sandhill, or as it is popularly known in the neighborhood, the "back road."

Last night, Mugdan chaired a meeting of neighborhood group The Westmoreland Association, drawing members and non-members alike to discuss the rule changes — with most attendees critical of the new traffic pattern instituted by city DOT in late September.

Those changes included the installation of a traffic median with rubber bollards, the removal of a No U-turn sign at the intersection and the construction of a raised sidewalk enclosing the Little Neck LIRR station parking lot.

Of those road projects, the enclosure of the parking area was the only one to receive some praise at the monthly Westmoreland Association meeting at Community Church of Little Neck.

"Before it was wide open," Mugdan said. "Now the entrance to the parking lot is better controlled."

As for the rest of the changes, Little Neck residents living both north and south of the LIRR tracks, including a handful of Douglas Manor residents, slammed the city DOT for confusing signage, a potential lack of emergency access and a lack of consultation.

In particular, the new median and subsequent removal of a No U-Turn sign prompted the most criticism, which at times, got emotional.

"Our lives depend on that road and she has cut that off from us," said longtime resident Rosemarie Zito, referring to city DOT borough commissioner Maura McCarthy.

According to Mugdan, McCarthy was invited to Monday night's meeting, but could not attend due to scheduling conflicts.

A representative from the office of Councilman Dan Halloran, R-Whitestone, was present to talk about the representative's efforts on behalf of residents, including two state Freedom of Information Law requests to compel city DOT to release studies on the intersection.

Zito, along with other residents north of the tracks, was particularly concerned about emergency access through what she called a "cramped" intersection that is periodically blocked by newly-installed quad gates.

"Fire trucks would have trouble making it through to us in case of an emergency," Zito said.

Also at issue was signage at the intersection. At last night's meeting, Mugdan relayed a message from McCarthy that conflicting signage was the result of miscommunication between different teams working with city DOT.

According to Mugdan, city DOT will create a painted extension north of the existing median roughly opposite the Armenian Society of New York on Little Neck Parkway, with a break to allow for U-turns.

The agency will also install additional No Stopping signs on the east side of Little Neck Parkway to the north driveway connected to the Armenian Society.

The planned changes are meant to alleviate backups caused by motorists making three-point turns going north on Little Neck Parkway and around the existing median — backups that recently caused a  harrowing situation for Westmoreland resident Herb Doyle.

"I was stuck on the tracks with nowhere to go," Doyle said.