By Howard Koplowitz
A Floral Park resident organized a petition drive to get 260th Street by Hillside Avenue converted to a one-way street after he claimed traffic took a turn for the worse on the block when a new business opened.
Raymond Meehan said he wrote the petition, which gained 62 signatures, and sent them to Community Board 13 last week to get the street changed to one-way.
"We're asking for relief from the terrible traffic patterns," Meehan said. "The traffic can back up horribly. You can hear horns beeping all the time.
"It's terribly unsafe right now," he said. "Just walking down the street can be a hazard."
Specifically, the petition requests that 260th Street north of Hillside Avenue be converted to one-way northbound for one block. On 260th Street south of Hillside Avenue, the petition urges changing the street to one-way southbound for one block.
The changes "would eliminate the need to do U-turns," Meehan said.
He said the traffic worsened when Cash & Carry opened about two months ago because the establishment does not have any parking spaces.
"There's always a lot of business going on there," Meehan said.
He said nearby establishments that do have parking have an inadequate number of spaces.
"They're building large stores, but they're not accommodating for parking," Meehan said. "It would take the traffic away from the corners."
While Meehan wrote the petition, he said somebody else gathered the signatures but did not want to be interviewed for this story because the person feared retaliation.
Community leaders took notice of the petition drive and Meehan was urged to become the president of the Floral Park Community Council, which disbanded last year after its former president moved to Long Island.
Meehan said he agreed to take over the civic, but no timetable has been set to install him as its president.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
