Recently, a 41-year old pedestrian was killed while walking along Commack Road. His killer was caught, thanks to a man who followed the hit and run driver. But there are others who must be held responsible: namely, Suffolk County. Friends of the Edgewood Preserve has, for some time now, warned County officials about the dangerous conditions along Commack Road. We have asked for improvements that would make it safer for pedestrians and bicycle riders. We have put the County on notice that the tractor-trailers pulling off and on the road to get a hotdog from the vendors that sit near the entrances to the Edgewood Preserve and Pilgrim State Hospital are serious hazard. Commack Road cuts through residential areas and a nature preserve habitat. This road should be safe for pedestrians and should not be a "rest stop" area. Barring emergencies, cars and trucks should not be allowed to stop here. The speed limit through this area should be lowered and monitored.

Suffolk County DPW has plans to "improve" Commack Road from Julia Circle all the way to Nicoll's Road. These plans have been flying under the radar: no civic or environmental or community group was properly notified or given the opportunity to review and submit comments. The County, as lead agency, is intent on pushing these improvements through without doing an environmental impact study and without community involvement. These so-called "improvements" do not improve Commack Road near where this man was killed. Had there been a curbed sidewalk this man would likely be alive right now.

Instead the County wants to flat pave Commack Road (removing grass and trees that now exist along the road's edge), enabling cars and trucks to more easily pull on/off the road, creating an even more hazardous condition than exists right now. No curbed sidewalks or bike lanes are included in these plans! The residents of Dix Hills and Deer Park will have no way to walk or cycle to the Edgewood Preserve or to each other's communities via Commack Road. And although some continue to deny it, the County's likely intention is to make Commack Road another Deer Park Avenue. Get ready for more trucks, cars, noise, litter and pollution from diesel exhaust. While the rest of the world is embracing alternative modes of transportation and working hard to find ways to make it safer and easier for people to walk and bike places, Suffolk County discourages these things at every turn by doing more of the same: more asphalt in more places. And when you keep doing things the same way you get the same results: more cars, more trucks. And more unnecessary fatalities. Patricia Burkhart, Founding Board Member Friends of the Edgewood Preserve Deer Park