Resident calls for comprehensive street safety and transportation plan in Hempstead
2598117 · March 13, 2025
A resident urged the Town of Hempstead to adopt a proactive, comprehensive transportation and street-safety plan, citing dense population, recurring complaints about dangerous driving and missed opportunities for cycling infrastructure.
Sean Cirillo, an Oceanside resident, told the Town of Hempstead Town Board on March 11 that the town lacks a comprehensive street safety or transportation plan and relies on a reactive complaint-based approach.
"Instead of a proactive approach to improving road safety, it seems the town relies entirely on residents calling to complain about individual issues," Cirillo said. He said that in his viewing of town board livestreams "without fail, at least 1 resident comes forward to complain about dangerous driving and how their multiple requests for safety improvements have been ignored." Cirillo described Hempstead as "the largest township in The United States with half a billion dollar budget" and said the town needs a modern, long-term plan.
Cirillo urged the town to expand alternatives to driving, including cycling infrastructure. "One of the most effective ways to reduce congestion and improve safety is to provide viable transportation alternatives," he said, and cited a statistic he said came from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Traffic Statistics: "28 percent of all trips in The entire United States are under 1 mile. Those are prime trips to get people out of their cars and walking and cycling." He framed better pedestrian and bike options as both safety and economic improvements, saying downtowns benefit when foot traffic increases.
A second speaker, Rosario of Thrush Avenue in West Hempstead, said he "wanna second everything that mister Cirillo said" and described a specific roadway problem on Eagle Avenue leading into Hempstead Lake Park that required repeated outreach to state Assembly offices to prompt a town response. He said the pavement "was completely torn up" and that he had to provide video to secure a patch rather than a full repaving.
Neither Cirillo nor Rosario asked the board to make a specific motion at the meeting; both urged broader planning and follow-up from town leadership.
