Median matters

It seems to be the one thing all Little Neck residents, Republican and Democrat, motorist and pedestrian, agree on: traffic changes at Little Neck Parkway and the Long Island Railroad tracks are bunk, they say.

"It's just a pain in the neck," said an area resident, Mitch Shur, while waiting for a westbound LIRR train at Little Neck Station last Saturday. "At best, there's been no improvement with any of the changes."

Installed as part of the newly-instituted Railroad Quiet Zone stretching from Douglaston to the Westmoreland section of Little Neck on the Queens-Nassau County line, the changes include a traffic median impeding turns for motorists traveling on Little Neck Parkway.

The changes leave drivers looking to drop off and pick up LIRR passengers with no other option but to make a dangerous U-turn at the railroad tracks or an almost as equally dangerous U-turn headed southbound on Little Neck Parkway and 39th Road.

At a town hall meeting held last month by Councilmember Dan Halloran, R-Whitestone, Little Neck resident Larry Sheehan blasted the city Dept. of Transportation for causing headaches for residents and commuters.

"They've only caused more problems," Sheehan said.

Sheehan complained of backups caused during the peak morning and afternoon hours, with drivers lining up to drop off and pick up commuters at Little Neck LIRR station. "Why did they get rid of the no U-turn signs?" he asked, referring to signage that clearly barred the turns at the intersection of Little Neck Parkway and the LIRR tracks.

Sheehan also wants "No Stopping" signs installed at the intersection.

"At 7 o'clock, there are eight or nine cars standing and waiting for the train," he said. "It's impeding traffic going across the tracks."

City Department of Transportation officials defended the new traffic pattern, calling the changes an issue of safety. However, at Halloran's town hall meeting last month, Queens transportation planner Nate Gray couldn't recall an accident occurring at the intersection to justify the new rules.

Through a spokesman, the city DOT acknowledged there would be a "period of adjustment" as residents got used to the new traffic rules and said the agency would continue to monitor the situation and make changes as necessary.

According to officers at the 111th Precinct, traffic police were patrolling the intersection at peak hours, looking for problems. In regards to U-turns and cars standing at Little Neck station, officers have begun issuing citations to motorists for traffic violations, police said.

Meanwhile, Shur, a resident of Lake Success who regularly uses Little Neck station because of its proximity, is having second thoughts.

"It's not as convenient as it used to be," he said.