West Islip Residents Support Increased Traffic Law Enforcement

A local lawmaker’s efforts to make Udall Road and Higbie Lane safer for motorists and pedestrians sparked feedback from West Islip residents who are clearly fed up with traffic congestion and dangerous car manuevers on both roads.

Suffolk County Legislator Tom Barraga has asked the Third Precinct to step up patrols on the two roads to stop illegal driving activities and drive home a message that “West Islip is not the Wild West” when it comes to motorist behavior.

The issues, as one Patch reader noted, are only likely to get worse pending new developments such as the proposed CVS store at the site of the LaGrange building and is asking Barraga to review the ingress and egress allowed for such a project given current traffic behavior.

“The access to the proposed CVS from Higbie will be directly across from the library and will, at best, further exacerbate the congestion West Islip residents deal with now. At worst, a parent or bus driver taking kids to and from Bellew, Beach Street, or the high school could find themselves having to dodge drivers making these illegal turns,” writes the reader.

Another resident says something must be done regarding the intersection of Roderick Road and Udall just south of sunrise. 

“What a death trap thats become. Why do people insist on driving in the shoulder!? They need to put a light there,” he wrote.

Another resident wants an unmarked police car to watch traffic heading south on Higbie near West Islip Boulevard.

“People constantly drive straight in the left turn lane. They proceed south through and across the railroad tracks, disregarding the traffic lane markings,” he wrote.

Another resident urges neighbors to call the Third Precinct, at 854-8308, and request what he calls the dangerous situation of speeding along Udall Road from Sunrise Highway to where it intersects Higbie Lane.

“If we all address this dangerous matter it may possibly help save a life.”