New Hyde Park residents urge village to better improve safety at deadly intersection

Residents say the Village of New Hyde Park needs to do more to reduce crashes at an intersection where three people were killed earlier this year

News 12 Staff

Aug 25, 2022, 2:35 AM

Updated 836 days ago

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Residents say the Village of New Hyde Park needs to do more to reduce crashes at an intersection where three people were killed earlier this year
Pattie McCallum has been living at the corner of South Third Street and Jericho Turnpike for more than a decade. She’s seen more accidents up close than she can count, including the one that claimed the lives of three women in May.
The crash happened when a car was leaving a sweet sixteen party at the Inn at New Hyde Park, trying to make a left turn onto Jericho Turnpike and was T-boned.
The Village of New Hyde Park installed these no left turn signs Tuesday to improve safety. 
However, McCallum says ore needs to be done.
“I'm appreciative that there is some attempt to make some kind of change, however this is not enough,” she says. “It's a small step in the right direction but I don't think we're fully there yet.”
Neighbor Navin Sadaphal says he would like to see a stop light put in. McCallum says there needs to be speed cameras. 
Mayor Christopher Devane says the no left turn signs are being installed not only at the accident site, but at every north south intersection along Jericho Turnpike in the village.
“We're doing everything possible that we can do on a village level,” he says. 
Devane says even more safety measures could come down the road, though he's putting the brakes on speed cameras, which he had previously considered.
“I've heard from the residents, speed cameras are not something they really actually want. We'll do a traffic study, work with the state and see what may work best,” he says. 
In the meantime, McCallum says she’s seen some drivers are already ignoring the new signs, which could lead to another crash. 
“Something more has to be done to ensure we do not have another death,” she says. 
There is a total of 21 of "no left turn" signs going up. So far, the village is more than halfway through and should be finished installing them by the end of the week.
Because Jericho Turnpike is a state road, projects like a stop light or speed cameras would need to go through the state.