Portion Road Visioning Update
Dec 01, 2004
The formal Visioning Meetings that were held in
October have concluded and it is now apparent that
the Portion Road project will not be a typical County
widening project. What started out as a major
widening to five lanes with full shoulders, has now
been scaled back significantly.
The road will be still be re-built and capacity
improvements will be included to make traffic flow
better, but the emphasis will not just be on a wider
road with more pavement. Instead of looking only at
the road, the visioning process identified several
innovative land use and smart growth strategies to
improve pedestrian and vehicular mobility, including:
the creation of parallel local access roads; better
connection of residential areas to businesses and
shopping; and improved connectivity between adjacent
shopping centers. This strategy will decrease the
number of local trips on Portion Road and reduce the
amount of widening and extra lanes that will be
required. Pedestrian activity and bicycle use will be
encouraged as alternatives to always using the car
for local trips.
The primary goal of the Portion Road
project has been expanded to include the improvement
of the quality of life in the community, as well as
the improvement of traffic flow through the
community. The process to finalize the plan and
complete the actual construction will still take some
time and require ongoing input from the community,
but we can all expect to be very proud of the new
road and its associated amenities when it is
finished.
Portion Road Visioning Weekend Conclusions Hundreds of local citizens participated in trouble shooting sessions, walking tours of Portion Road between Ronkonkoma Ave. and Nichols Road and the immediate vicinities, and they offered their proposed recommendations. The Vision Long Island Design Team used their expertise and considered all the information presented. They were able to offer an incredible Vision of our community that delighted all participants present, which included local Town and County politicians, The Lake Ronkonkoma Civic, The Lake Ronkonkoma Chamber of Commerce, and hundreds of community participants. Final recommendations to the County will be presented some time in December after further input from additional community groups are considered. The unique ideas included traffic congestion relief on Portion Road by providing additional parallel roads, allowing shoppers to get to their destinations without having to get on Portion Road. These roads would be placed in the current blacktop parking areas that exist in underutilized parking areas of our shopping centers. Where needed, appropriate connections from current roadways would be considered. Traffic signals would be coordinated for smooth traffic flow. The traffic at the busy intersections at Patchogue Holbrook Road and at Holbrook Road can be calmed by adding 110 foot diameter traffic loops called “round-abouts.” Sidewalks and pathways would exist all along Portion Road, allowing comfortable travel for pedestrians and bikers. Additional paths would be added linking the senior communities directly from their homes to the nearest shopping areas. There would be paths from the Hawkins Ave. area with direct links to the Lake. Trees and other greenery, benches, and garbage cans would line the roads and paths. A town square was envisioned at the corner of Hawkins Ave. and Portion Road, across from the Great Evergreen Tree with facilities for a band stand and local outdoor concerts. The Waldbaum’s shopping center would offer more gathering places for socialization. The Farmingville shopping center would offer recreation facilities for the community. All along Portion Road, where new businesses are brought closer to the edge of Portion Road, there would be apartments above. There would be parallel parking on Portion Road near the new store centers. Businesses would either be next to the main road, or near the parallel road in the parking lot off Portion Road. Achieving this Vision will require a concerted effort and a lot of support from the municipalities and the community. Over time it can be accomplished and our neighborhoods will see a change for the better.
Portion Road Visioning Weekend Conclusions Hundreds of local citizens participated in trouble shooting sessions, walking tours of Portion Road between Ronkonkoma Ave. and Nichols Road and the immediate vicinities, and they offered their proposed recommendations. The Vision Long Island Design Team used their expertise and considered all the information presented. They were able to offer an incredible Vision of our community that delighted all participants present, which included local Town and County politicians, The Lake Ronkonkoma Civic, The Lake Ronkonkoma Chamber of Commerce, and hundreds of community participants. Final recommendations to the County will be presented some time in December after further input from additional community groups are considered. The unique ideas included traffic congestion relief on Portion Road by providing additional parallel roads, allowing shoppers to get to their destinations without having to get on Portion Road. These roads would be placed in the current blacktop parking areas that exist in underutilized parking areas of our shopping centers. Where needed, appropriate connections from current roadways would be considered. Traffic signals would be coordinated for smooth traffic flow. The traffic at the busy intersections at Patchogue Holbrook Road and at Holbrook Road can be calmed by adding 110 foot diameter traffic loops called “round-abouts.” Sidewalks and pathways would exist all along Portion Road, allowing comfortable travel for pedestrians and bikers. Additional paths would be added linking the senior communities directly from their homes to the nearest shopping areas. There would be paths from the Hawkins Ave. area with direct links to the Lake. Trees and other greenery, benches, and garbage cans would line the roads and paths. A town square was envisioned at the corner of Hawkins Ave. and Portion Road, across from the Great Evergreen Tree with facilities for a band stand and local outdoor concerts. The Waldbaum’s shopping center would offer more gathering places for socialization. The Farmingville shopping center would offer recreation facilities for the community. All along Portion Road, where new businesses are brought closer to the edge of Portion Road, there would be apartments above. There would be parallel parking on Portion Road near the new store centers. Businesses would either be next to the main road, or near the parallel road in the parking lot off Portion Road. Achieving this Vision will require a concerted effort and a lot of support from the municipalities and the community. Over time it can be accomplished and our neighborhoods will see a change for the better.
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