Politics & Government

Study: Hempstead Turnpike is 'Deadly'

Route 24, which runs through Farmingdale before becoming Conklin, claims pedestrian lives at alarming rate.

A new study upholds Hempstead Turnpike's ranking as the deadliest road in the tri-state area for pedestrians.

"Pedestrians are killed an average of more than five times a year" on the 16-miles of Route 24 that run through Nassau County, according to a recent analysis conducted by Newsday of pedestrian accident reports from 2005 through 2010.

The road runs for about one mile through Farmingdale, from around Sarant Cadillac to Palmer's Grille, before splitting into Conklin Street and Fulton Street, which also see their share of accidents and congestion.

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Two young lives were taken on the turnpike in a two-week span in June 2011 alone. On June 4, 19-year-old Peter Thearle, of Levittown, was fatally struck by two cars while crossing the turnpike in his hometown. Eleven days later, 22-year-old Salem Enayetullah, of Massachussets, also died when he was hit by a car while crossing the heavily trafficked roadway in West Hempstead.

The following month, another unidentified pedestrian was killed while crossing the turnpike in East Meadow, where a woman in her mid-60s had also perished nine months earlier. And just this Wednesday, a 72-year-old man was pronounced dead after he too was struck by a car in Elmont while attempting to cross the turnpike. Not to mention, there's also been countless reports of adultsteens and children who have been hit on the busy road but fortunately survived.

Find out what's happening in Farmingdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Some experts blame the design of the roadway. Long stretches between crosswalks, ranging from 1,000 feet to a half-mile, that "encourage pedestrians to cross midblock," and a lack of medians or mid-road islands, were cited by Newsday as contributing factors to the high-rate (8.21 for every 1 million vehicle-miles-traveled) of pedestrian deaths on the turnpike.

The Department of Transportation and Nassau County have taken some efforts to address the most troublesome spots on the turnpike, including upgrading traffic signals, adding left-turn lanes and installing countdown signals at crosswalks, but without a more comprehensive redesign of the roadway, experts say it will continue to be a threat.

What do you think should be done to make the turnpike safer? Tell us in the comments section.


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