Thiele Outlines Ideas For Route 24 Safety

With scores of residents expressing safety concerns over roadway conditions on Route 24 in Flanders, Assemblyman Fred Thiele is poised to present alternatives.

Thiele, who is slated to meet with the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Civic Association on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. to discuss the future of Route 24 -- a Nov. discussion was rescheduled due to Hurricane Sandy aftermath -- said plans for the roadway began taking shape last summer.

According to Thiele, during the summer, a meeting was held with elected officials including New York State Senator Ken LaValle, Legislator Jay Schneiderman, and representatives of the New York State Department of Transportation and Suffolk County Department of Public Works.

"Those departments are already at work trying to come up with alternatives," Thiele said. 

The purpose of the January meeting, Thiele said, is for elected officials and department representatives to "get a better idea of what the public is looking for."

Looking back at a similar traffic calming project embarked upon in Sag Harbor, Thiele said the goal is to adopt many of the same measures utilized in the Route 114 traffic remediation plan. 

"What I want to help them accomplish is to create more hamlet centers and make the Flanders area more pedestrian and business friendly, instead of a pass-through roadway."

On the table, Thiele said, are possible traffic calming initiatives and other measures to enhance public safety. "It's a dangerous road," he said. "The state DOT and the county DPW are doing a lot of background work toward trying to move the ball downfield when we have the meeting in January."