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Sidewalks For Safety Three Village Pedestrian Safety



Problems:


Three Village is no longer the rural community it once was. Driving presents far more safety risks because of larger vehicles (pick-up trucks and SUVs), speeding and texting. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 72 pedestrians were killed on Long Island in 2022. We need to adapt Three Village roads to make walking and cycling safe, especially for our children. 


Solutions:


Sidewalks for Safety is not proposing to add sidewalks to all of Three Village roads. Instead we propose extending and connecting the existing sidewalks around the schools and connecting Stony Brook University (SBU) to community neighborhoods. Sidewalks with a road verge (green mow strip) are safer and keep cars further away from pedestrians (See Christian Ave Sidewalk). Narrowing roads slows traffic down thereby enhancing safety for pedestrians.



Sidewalks For Safety priorities:

Safe sidewalks allowing safe access to and from our schools.

It’s not that many roads!

Just the main connector roads.



Map:


Blue lines = existing Sidewalks

Red dotted = sidewalk extensions needed





Extreme High Priority Roads: Numbers 1 to 3



1. N Country Road / Main Street 


Connect Farmers Market all the way to Setauket Neighborhood House. This would provide safety to Gelinas students + all residents off Main St could walk safely to Farmers Market/25A stores/Gallery North, Historic Society, Frank Melville Park, Emma Clark Library.

2. Ridgeway and Mud to Gelinas Middle School


To connect with Gelinas School sidewalk that ends at Brandywine Drive. This is a race style turn from Ridgeway onto Mud and means vehicles are speeding around this overgrown blind curve while children are walking on the road.

3. Old Town Road 


Connect Ward Melville High School (from Olde Towne Gardens nursery) all the way to Setauket Fire Department. Many WMHS students are walking/track teams running with industrial trucks from Bove, Troffa industrial area on Conswauge road and do not have access to a bus (live less than one mile from WMHS). This would allow all residents off Old Town Road the ability to walk to Greenway trail and to downtown Setauket, The Se-port Deli is a meeting place for WMHS students. Old Town Road has a few existing sidewalks but they are not connected and would connect to Gnarled Hollow.


High Priority roads: Numbers 4 to 11



4. Christian Ave to Gelinas Middle School


Extending the existing Christian Ave sidewalk from Erland Rd to Gelinas. This is a major route with many blind curves and would allow all residents off Christian Ave to walk safely to Gelinas, Emma Clark Library, Churches, SB village, Avalon Park & the beach.

5. Quaker Path 


to Christian Ave, this would allow all residents off Quaker to walk safely to LIRR, 25A, SBU, Stony Brook school. This would also increase pedestrian access to LIRR and Stony Brook University.

6. Sheep Pasture Road


to Old Town Road. This would make it safe for WMHS, Minnesauke and Nassakeag School students to walk to Three Village Dads and connect to the Setauket gym racket club. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University.



7. Bennetts Road


(existing sidewalk ends at railroad bridge nr 25A) to Sheep Pasture Rd.

8. Pond Path


to upper Sheep Pasture. This would make it safe for WMHS, Minnesauke and Nassakeag School students to walk to Three Village Dads and connect to the Setauket gym/tennis club. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University.

9. Oxhead Road


the sidewalk in front of Murphy JH needs to extend all the way down to Stony Brook Road. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University.

10. Stony Brook Road


from SBU Tech Park to 25A. Mount Elementary school students could walk safely to SB village as well as all residents off Stony Brook Rd. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University.

11. County Road 25A


from Stony Brook Rd to the LIRR. This would also increase pedestrian access to Stony Brook University and Long Island Museum and make it safe for SBU, Stony Brook School students, faculty and staff. 

New updated Sidewalks in 3V Area: Pond Path, Carlton Ave, Bayview Ave to Carlton, Section of Nichols Road infront of firehouse to S road.

Sources:
www.newsday.com/long-island/transportation/report-traffic-fatalities-long-island-risky-behavior-uvli00xg

www.osc.ny.gov/files/reports/pdf/traffic-fatalities-are-growing-in-new-york-state.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

www.pedbikeinfo.org/cms/downloads/PedestrianLitReview_April2014.pdf#page=34&zoom=100,69,350

Join us 
@ The Three Farmers Market this Friday!
August 23
From 2 pm to 7 pm.

Come and say hello and have your portrait taken, it's FREE!

We are creating large b/w community portraits for the inside-out project to bring more awareness to the need to connect the existing 3V Sidewalks.

The portraits will be on view
@ The Three Village Historical Society for Culper Spy 5K
Sunday, September 8, 2024 @ 9 am.

You can sign up for the Historical Society 5K run/walk @ https://www.tvhs.org/5k

If you cannot make the farmers market but would like to have your portrait taken for the event email: Sidewalksforsafetyli@gmail by August 30th.

Sidewalks create safe, thriving, liveable communities.



Join us for our second Mother’s Day, 2024 and spark change locally. 



To Sign up for our Mother’s Day 5k. Go to: https://events.elitefeats.com/24sidewalks 


Sunday, May 12, 2024 

9:30 AM Start - Rain or Shine The Three Village Historical Society
Warm up @ 9:15 by Real Deal Fitness

A huge thank you to The Three Village Historical Society for hosting our 2024 SFS Mother's Day Walk/Run.

︎︎Receive a free T-shirt from our WMHS T-shirt design contest for signing up!︎︎

Start/Finish @ The Three Village Historical Society

Flower Prizes / Photobooth / Jazz by The Jazz Loft / Food by Level Up Kitchen

Sponsored by Three Village Orthodontics bringing sMILES

Sidewalks For Safety is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to improving the safety of Three Village roads for the benefit of walkers, runners, cyclists, and drivers. Sidewalks create safe, thriving, liveable communities.



A wonderful community event.



It’s wonderful to see so many Three Village residents walking, running and cycling around the Three Village.

Many of us are now working from home, and more than ever, want to get outside and enjoy the benefits of living in such a wonderful community. Now that the pandemic is easing, and the weather is warmer, it’s the perfect time to turn our attention to building a walkable and bikeable community. The Three Village area needs to add more sidewalks and bike lanes. Increasingly, the simple act of walking or biking in our neighborhoods has become a death-defying act. Far too many vehicles exceed the speed limit. More and more drivers are distracted as they text or talk on their phones. There seems to be little care given to ‘sharing the road’ with pedestrians and bicyclists. Compounding these safety issues are a host of road design problems: blind curves, non-existent shoulders, narrow streets, overgrown greenery, etc. Often, traffic enforcement is touted as a solution to improve pedestrian safety, but there are too few officers, and way too many rule breakers.

Sidewalks are a simple and practical ‘step’ to transforming the Three Villages into an even better area to live and work. Sidewalks promote healthier lifestyles, create friendlier communities, and serve as ‘bridges’ to nearby neighborhoods. Sidewalks encourage residents to leave their cars at home as they walk safely to schools, visit friends and family, and shop.

Making the Three Villages walkable doesn’t involve building sidewalks on every street, walkability can be achieved by adding sidewalks strategically to a few main corridors, specifically around schools. Our community is unique with its numerous historic sites and homes, parks, and beaches. We have remarkable neighborhoods, and numerous places with dramatic vistas. Being able to enjoy all our community has to offer is enhanced by being able to safely and easily access these sites without getting into a car or truck. Interestingly, a significant factor to home buyers today is finding a house in a ‘walkable community.’ More sidewalks in our area would check off that box!

Read the article:
https://tbrnewsmedia.com/tag/town-of-brookhaven-highway-department/

“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts” —Søren Kierkegaard

© Sidewalks For Safety 2024