COMMUNITY LEADERS
Providing Transportation Choices
Tri-state
Transportation Campaign
2006
In order to achieve Smart Growth, Long Island needs partners who can command highly specialized, deeply complicated, and oft-times amazingly convoluted issues. Transportation is one such concern. In its myriad aspects, it remains one of the most daunting and deeply critical issues facing Long Island.
We commend the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, an organization that commands a rare voice of reason and technical expertise. Full of knowledge and hard-hitting advocacy, Tri-State has proven itself among the most determined forces to be reckoned with.
Tri-State is unafraid to push the envelope and demand the creative transportation solutions that Long Island’s future depends on. The organization has put a spotlight on the dangers of Long Island roads and has provided extraordinary support to efforts aimed at reducing pedestrian accidents. Champions of public transportation, Tri-State was a leader in ensuring funding for LI Bus and spearheaded the Coalition for the Third Track, an effort aimed at expanding and addressing key issues with the Long Island Rail Road.
From the Smart Growth perspective, Tri-State’s most important contribution has been its relentless push on the NY and NJ Departments of Transportation to create roadways that incorporate land use considerations and allow for mixed use development. It is in this arena, that VISION has had the greatest opportunity to work with them.
Tri-State’s early advocacy for ‘Smart’ transportation planning was a significant factor in advancing commercial corridor charrettes and plans, most notably in the Town of Brookhaven. More recently, their 2005 Smart Growth Summit presentation on transforming the NJ Department of Transportation essentially established a new paradigm of how the large agency can best serve its regions. We look forward to helping Tri-State carry these progressive ideas into the new administration, where we’ll have a valuable opportunity to further advance ‘Smart’ community-centered planning.
Connie
Kepert
Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Organizations
2004
Connie Kepert is an accomplished civic leader who has worked tirelessly to stem the tide of haphazard, over development, has pressed for a diversified, safe, and effective transportation system, and has moved forward the effort to create interactive community parks. As a civic leader, Connie has concentrated on solving problems through a participatory process that brings people together, and encourages the building of a community vision. Connnie Kepert has pressed for policies that encourage sustainable development, steer development away from sensitive sites, and into centers, and create people oriented, equitable places. Most recently, Connie led the effort that resulted in a fourday charrette along the Middle Country Road corridor.
In May of 2002, an intensive planning process called a Charette was sponsored by the Connie Kepert with the help of the Town of Brookhaven and Vision Long Island. Focus groups, and discussion groups were used to generate a shared vision for the future. Nationally-renowned planners and traffic engineers brought the results together to develop general plans for land use and the development of roadways in Coram and Middle Island, along Middle Country Road, from County Road 83 eastward past County Road 21.
A true grass roots effort, the visions serve as a map to create an overlay of zoning codes for this area. A new zoning code for downtown development (J-6) is in its final stage of development. The vision’s salient purpose is to save lives by focusing on the development of the Middle Country Road. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has long-range plans to widen Route 25 into a five-lane roadway where speed and accident rates will increase. Statistics from nearby towns clearly show this to be true. A “speedway” will also encourage vehicles to pass local businesses in favor of large warehouse stores and more distant destinations. If allowed, Coram and Middle Island will become “pass through” towns with less community identity and fewer opportunities for residents and local businesses.
The visions propose a grid of roadways, including roads parallel to Route 25 that will relieve traffic congestion. Middle Country Road can then remain a two-lane road, with a new tree-lined center median, and sidewalks, set back from the road by a treed green space. This new Middle Country Road would connect two town centers, planned not only for traffic, but to invite use by local residents and area visitors alike. These centers invite human interaction, create a sense of community, and promote the businesses located in them.
Neal Lewis organized the Nassau Hub Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), a group comprised of 50 chambers of commerce; civic, community, and environmental organizations; and several individual residents. The Hub CAC was formed to fight for community input to the planning process for central Nassau County. The original Hub Study was completed with no public input, and was used as the basis to request funding for a Major Investment Study (MIS), set to begin soon. The MIS, however, is not limited to scope or conclusions contained in the Hub Study.
The Hub CAC is designed to demonstrate that civic, environmental, and business stakeholders can come together, in a cooperative manner, and identify common goals for development and transportation. In doing this, the project attempts to spur the County to utilize an open and inclusive visioning process to develop and adopt a comprehensive plan for development and transportation in central Nassau.
Attempts to develop a comprehensive plan have become bogged down by community opposition to proposals generated without citizen input that are viewed as better designed to enrich wealthy developers than to address legitimate community needs. These proposals for intensive development in the “Nassau Hub” could result in an estimated 20% to 40% increase in rush hour congestion in central Nassau, and the economic detriment to surrounding downtowns.
The Hub CAC met with government and planning board officials, and planning experts. Large group meetings had an average attendance of over 70. A contact list of 379 government officials, chambers of commerce, civic, environmental, and other citizens groups, and interested individuals was compiled. 48 organizations agreed to be listed as participating organizations on the coalition letterhead.
The group created two subcommittees to develop proposals on transit and development. The Development Subcommittee drafted a proposal for a moratorium on large scale development in the Hub area. This proposal was unanimously approved by the full group, and submitted to the Hempstead Town Board. Although the Town declined to act on the moratorium proposal, high level town board and planning officials from Hempstead have since attended every large meeting of the group.
The Transit Sub-Committee developed a proposal which described what an ideal public transportation system (automated rapid transit) for central Nassau might consist of. This ambitious plan provided north/south links to existing train lines and linked many under-served communities to potential employment destinations in and around the Hub. With the help of the Community Mapping Assistance Project (CMAP), a detailed map of this proposed transit system was created. The full group unanimously approved this proposal — including the extensively detailed map.
Press coverage of the Hub Citizens Advisory Committee has been extensive and positive.. Two Newsday editorials endorsed the work of the Hub CAC (“Citizen Board Could Save Hub from NIMBYism” Newsday, September 22, 1999, and “Why Does Hub Plan Omit Coliseum? Advisory Group?” Newsday, February 9, 2000). The latter specifically asked, “When will the county involve members of the Nassau Hub Citizens Advisory Committee?” and noted that “Its input is important.”
A Newsday Veiwpoints article by Neal Lewis (“There’s More at Stake Than Hockey” Newsday, April 27, 2000) highlighted the Hub CAC’s concerns about traffic and piecemeal development, and the arguments for conducting a community visioning process for the area. Articles in major daily, as well as weekly, papers covered the work and concerns of the Hub Citizens Advisory Committee (“Traffic Called Hub Issue” Newsday, August 25, 1999; “Public Input on Hub Eyed” Daily News, August 25, 1999; “Coalition Urges Development Pause” Newsday, May 11, 2000; “Call for Moratorium on Hub Development” Westbury Times, May 18, 2000). This press coverage has helped establish the Committee’s credibility with elected officials.
Supporting Community Based-Planning Initiatives
Lake
Ronkonkoma Civic Organization
Thalia Bouklas
2005
The Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization is being honored for its extraordinary efforts to spearhead a community vision for Portion Road (County Road 16) between Lake Ronkonkoma and Farmingville. The planning charrette was a tremendous success, resulting in a vision that has been extraordinarily well-received by stakeholders and decision-makers alike.
Thanks in large part to the organizing efforts of the civic organization, the event drew over two hundred residents, business owners, politicians, and town and county officials. Looking beyond the road, participants identified several innovative smart growth land use trategies that will improve pedestrian and vehicular mobility. These include creation of parallel local access roads, improved connectivity between residential areas, businesses and shopping centers. A primary goal is to improve the environment for pedestrian and bike activity, reducing the need to use cars for local trips.
The revitalization of the main Lake Ronkonkoma Business District near Hawkins Avenue is relatively straightforward, since the area already possesses many characteristics of a traditional village shopping district. Much more challenging will be transforming the suburban sprawl between Hans Boulevard and Cenacle Road into the second town center area proposed in the community vision. Primary proposals for this area include:
While they have already accomplished much, the proposed plans for the High- Point Town Center will require a great deal of input and public support as they move forward in their community effort to finalize and advance their vision.
