After West Islip residents raised concern about potential traffic dangers at the busy at the corner of Bayshore and Schember Roads, Suffolk County Police have agreed to add police patrols there to ensure the safety of students walking to and from the Udall Road Middle School.

At a recent school board meeting, residents and parents said they feared that children could be hit by vehicles that race in and out of a gasoline station there, screeching their tires. There are no sidewalks in the area.

S.C. Leg. Angie Carpenter was instrumental in getting the additional patrols.

"We asked that police ticket speeding vehicles and had a speed trailer put up to tell people how fast they were going," she said. "If phone calls are any indication of success, we had only one call about this issue lately," said Carpenter.

In addition, the Town of Islip is in the process of installing sidewalks at that location, and many others, in a long-term Bayshore Road project. That work will include the installation of handicapped ramps, bike lanes and a reconfiguration of the roadway. The project, being completed with federal grants and county resources, will be the subject of a public hearing this summer.

A concerned parent who spoke recently at a West Islip School Board meeting was Nancy Koerner who has three children, one of whom attends the Middle School. She said she does not believe the proposed changes will ensure safety for pedestrians.

"Police presence will not make a difference and neither will sidewalks," said Koerner, who added that next door to the gasoline station and the food mart, a vacant lot is filled with abandoned cars.

"My son was approached by a truck driver once who wanted him to get in his truck," said the exasperated mother. "In fact, a group of parents within the area have started a car pool so their children don’t need to trek by the risky area."

Koerner said she and other parents believe the only solution is for the district to provide bus service to students who have to traverse that street to get to school.

"This should be allowed for safety reasons," she said Koerner.

Nancy Lenz, district spokesperson, said the district is paying for a traffic study in the hope of making the area safer for its students. The cost of the study, which is already underway, was approximately $4,000 and is being completed in conjunction with State Education and BOCES.

"The Board of Education would have to approve a change (in busing requirements) and that would take a community vote," explained Lenz. "At this point, we aren’t looking at it."