I was able to speak with Nassau County Traffic Engineering after I received some FOIL documents and they determined that a study was not necessary because, in their view, a bike lane simply could not fit. No study was conducted, and no alternative configurations were even considered. They further concluded that the route is safe as is, advising cyclists to ride in the car lane with 40 mph traffic whenever vehicles are parked in the shoulder. The only concession I was able to get was the future installation of the sign shown above to warn motorists of the presence of bicycles. 

After that, I spoke with a traffic engineer at AKRF Engineering who stated that within the existing 40-foot right-of-way, there would be no issue designing proper bicycle infrastructure. He made it clear that the obstacle here is not engineering, but politics.

This shows what many of us have felt for a long time. There is an institutional unwillingness to create safe bicycle infrastructure in Nassau County. Either way, I’m not giving up on this, and I’ll keep pushing until they start taking safe bicycle infrastructure seriously. I encourage everyone to reach out once again to their elected officials as well as the department of public works. 

Nassau County Public Works - 516-571-9600
Legislator Patrick Mullaney - pmullaney@nassaucountyny.gov