Major Sidewalk Repairs Planned For Downtown Riverhead

Sidewalks in downtown Riverhead will soon see some sprucing up.

At Thursday's work session, the Riverhead town board met with representatives of the New York State Department of Transportation for a public information session regarding the Route 25 sidewalk project.

According to Rob Smith, landscape architect for the DOT, the sidewalk revamp is part of the American With Disabilities Act sidewalks improvement project.

The plan, he said, is to divide the project project into two sections. The first component would involve replacing all sidewalks downtown to bring them up to Americans With Disabilities Act standards.

Work would include flattening grades, he said; the work is a "simple replacement in kind" project, Smith said. The curbline would remain the same, he said, except for one area where the curb would be extended five feet, west of Roanoke Avenue, where the sidewalk is currently steep and it's necessary to obtain a better grade and a shorter distance for people to cross the intersection.

Work downtown would extend from Center Street to Union Avenue; the western portion of the plan would go from the Long Island Expressway by River Road to Center Street, Smith said.

Aesthetics would include imprinted concrete, Smith said. The plan involves trimming trees and removing dead or diseased trees and adding narrow trees so there is no blockage of signs.

New materials made of stone and Apoxy will be used to pave around trees to add color, expand the sidewalk area, and allow for drainage, Smith said. The sidewalks are ADA accessible and allow for wheelchairs.

Work is slated to begin in the spring of 2014 and be completed by fall of 2014.

In the western section of the project, existing light posts will be removed and replaced with new light posts provided by the town.

Plans for the western portion include filling in gaps to create a continuous sidewalk system so individuals can walk from downtown to the LIE on River Road. A few areas will receive new curbage and a crosswalk will be added near Tanger. 

People will be able to walk from downtown to Tanger, with sidewalks on both sides of the road.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter said young people will be thankful for the ability to walk to Splish Splash safely.

The DOT said the plan is to also look into crossing times at Peconic and Roanoke to possibly give pedestrians more time to cross the street.

Walter said he has been involved with talks with the County to possibly make Peconic Avenue one way heading north. "It would be something to alleviate the bottle neck," he said.

Councilman John Dunleavy suggested a crosswalk on Court Street for individuals to reach the Suffolk County Correctional Facility.

DOT reps said, with an eye toward minimizing impacts to the business community, most of the work would be done at night, between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Engineers are slated to consult with business owners as the project progresses through various sections. A concrete that dries quickly would also be used. In addition, there would be no lane closing between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

South Jamesport resident Angela Devito said patrons of the Suffolk Theater might not be out by 10 p.m. Smith said business owners would be consulted about appropriate times for street closures.

Riverhead architect Gary Jacquemin, who was commissioned to help craft the town's revitalization plan in 1994, reminded that a critical part of the plan was to create a pedestrian friendly downtown. He said pedestrian friendly crosswalks are important. 

Dunleavy said the DOT is studying the timing of traffic lights at Roanoke and Main Street to give pedestrians additional time to cross.