Board Authorizes Cathedral Avenue Traffic Calming Study

The Board of Trustees has engaged the professional services of Creighton Manning Engineering, LLP to prepare a $47,800 traffic calming study of Cathedral Avenue, as requested by the Traffic Commission. Traffic calming is the combination of measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior, and improve conditions for non-motorized street users. Traffic calming consists of physical design and other measures put in place on existing roads to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Trustee Louis Minuto, Traffic Commission chair, assured residents the study would not divert traffic elsewhere but rather believes it could be a “game changer for road safety” in the Village. “Generally, the volume of traffic you need for this type of mitigation is twice the amount of traffic you’d see on Cathedral,” he said.

Frank Filiciotto, PE, branch manager for Creighton Manning Engineering, LLP, prepared the proposal. He said the study’s goal is to ease traffic and lessen the frequency of accidents - not move the problem elsewhere. “Based on the three years of data I’ve been looking at since I’ve been working on this project, the levels of traffic on Cathedral are not at the point where they will spill over onto parallel roadways,” he said.

Cathedral Avenue, a Nassau County-owned road, sees approximately 11,500 vehicles per day. According to Mr. Filiciotto, you’d begin seeing traffic diversions when you approach 20,000 vehicles per day. “Cathedral is really a great candidate that we’re considering,” he said, adding that the study could be replicated elsewhere in the Village if approved by the County.

The Village, in particular the Central Property Owners’ Association, for years has been asking Nassau County to take a closer look at Cathedral Avenue. In 2018, after much persistence, Nassau County installed a traffic light at the corner of Third Street and Cathedral Avenue. In 2019, the Police Department responded to 65 accidents on Cathedral Avenue. In 2020, the total number of accidents was 36, according to Police Commissioner Kenneth Jackson, which was significantly lower (44.5 percent) apparently due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m holding out a lot of hope for this study,” Trustee Minuto said. “I’ve been able to see it firsthand as I live in this part of town and grew up here, the traffic and speeding, and the accidents and overturned cars, are things you never thought you’d see coming down these roads. This study is a major step in the right direction.”