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Tanger puts up $$$ for study of plan to alleviate DP traffic Owners of the proposed Tanger Retail Outlet in Deer Park have put up half million dollars to pay for a feasibility study for a proposed road from the Tanger retail site in Deer Park through the former Pilgrim Sate Psychiatric Center. The plan is designed to alleviate some of the potential traffic and congestion that the new site is expected to generate. The plan will also require an easement of the Heartland properties (the former PilgrimState site). "I am very pleased that we have secured a monetary commitment from the owners of Tanger to provide for the engineering and preliminary steps necessary to help construct an alternative roadway to prevent traffic gridlock on Commack Road," said S.C. Leg. Steve Levy in making the announcement last week. "This is great progress for the area," said S.C. Leg. Steve Stern who represents the community. "I am pleased to see the beginning results of an effort to bring all levels of government together with the participation of the developers to pro- vide mitigation measures not only for Tanger but also for the entire region. We're definately moving in the right direction." Laura Mansi, president of the Four Towns Civic Association called the proposed roadway the first step in many needed to alleviate a traffic nightmare "created by the irresponsible decisions of others." "The County Executive is to be commended for doing all he can to secure some temporary traffic relief now and until a full-blown and extensive traffic mitigation plan is in place," she said. "I am particularly pleased about this plan because unlike the intermodal roadway, which is also much more complicated, costly and will take a lot more time to put into place, this project will move quickly. "I expect to see the study completed in less than a year," he said, adding that after that a funding stream and other issues will have to be explored before the project moves forward. The Town of Babylon approved the construction of a Tanger outlet off of Long Island Avenue in Deer Park. Last month, the S.C. Legislature approved a resolution allowing the outlet to hook up to the Southwest Sewer District, effectively paving the way for the project.
According to the agreement, Tanger will pay $300,000 towards the preliminary studies and engineering for the roadway, plus an additional $100,000 will be dedicated to a study two years down the road to analyze the impact that traffic mitigation measures have had on the area. This will be accompanied by a substantial performance bond that will be paid to Suffolk County by the developers/owner of the site. This is in addition to an effort underway to secure a $400,000 grant from the New York Metropolitan Transportaiton Council to provide for an overall study of the impact of traffic from the PJ Ventures development at the northeast corner of the Long Island Expressway and Commack Road, the Tanger outlet in Babylon and the Pilgrim State development in Islip. The county is also investigating the transfer of up to $35 million of federal funding, presently designated for a rest stop off the LIE, toward infrastructure improvements for traffic migitation in the Sagtikos corridor instead.
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