Town receives $380K DOT grant

Brookhaven Highway superintendent Daniel P. Losquadro announced on Feb. 15, at the Terryville Fire Department, Station 2, on Old Town Road in Port Jefferson Station, that the town has received a $380,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for all grant program.

The funding for the Town of Brookhaven Vision Zero Action Plan is part of $800 million in grants awarded to 510 communities across the country to improve roadway safety planning. Action Plan grants are designed to help communities create safety plans to reduce roadway fatalities. The Town of Brookhaven Highway Department will use the grant to develop a comprehensive safety action plan, which may include installing new sidewalks in areas where there have been pedestrian fatalities, adding bike lanes, or building additional traffic control devices, Losquadro said.

Town officials said the estimated total project cost is $475,000, with the grant covering 80 percent and the town contributing 20 percent.

“The ultimate goal of this project is to study and create an action plan to avoid fatalities on town roadways,” said Losquadro. “Solutions may include new traffic control devices; more pedestrian-friendly access; new street designs and configurations to improve safety, coupled with increased education. The ultimate goal, however, will be zero deaths on town roadways.”

At the conference, supervisor Ed Romaine pointed to road safety as one of the town’s top priorities and thanked officials for helping to keep tax dollars within the town. Additionally, congressman Nick LaLota (NY-01) said that Long Island residents deserve smooth, safe roadways in return for the taxes they pay.

“To ensure we promote quality of life and motorists’ safety, it is critical that elected officials fight for our fair share of federal funding,” he said. “For every tax dollar New Yorkers send to Washington, we get a mere 93 cents back. That is why I am 100 percent committed to ensuring that as many of our tax dollars make it home as possible to make Long Island more affordable for our families and businesses.”