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Saturday, January 12, 2013

Fence Built to increase safety on Hempstead Turnpike

On what is considered one of Nassau Counties most dangerous stretches of road for pedestrians, a physical barrier is being installed to discourage people from midblock crossings.

Located across from Nassau University Medical Center, the 4 feet high fence is located on the traffic median in an area heavily trafficked by vehicles and pedestrians.

The median fencing is part of a multimillion-dollar safety upgrade of the turnpike throughout Nassau County.  The improvements were supposed to be done in the fall, but state officials said that superstorm Sandy cleanup and cold weather delayed the work.

The safety plan was accepted once an investigation of police accident reports from 2005 through 2010 found that people on foot were killed an average of more than five times a year on the road's 16 miles through Nassau. Thirty-two people were killed and at least 427 injured in 457 pedestrian incidents on the road over the six years studied.

Nearly Seventy percent of the pedestrians killed on the turnpike from 2005 through 2010 were not at an intersection when they were hit by a car.

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a transportation advocacy group, has named 

Hempstead Turnpike in Nassau County has been named the most dangerous road for pedestrians in the metropolitan region four times since 2008 by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

As recent as this past thursday a pedestrian was critically injured after being hit by a car on the turnpike near Uniondale Avenue.

If you or someone you know has been injured after being hit by a car call the experienced personal injury lawyers at Buttafuoco & Associates 1-800-669-4878.

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