Expanded buffer to be added between bike path, Wantagh Parkway

The state Department of Transportation will begin work next week to expand the buffer between the Wantagh State Parkway and the adjacent bike path, state Sen. Charles Fuschillo said Thursday. The move will decrease the vehicle traffic lanes from three to two for the 41/2-mile length alongside the bike path.

The state will also install a "rumble strip" that will warn motorists if they get too close to the bike path.

The moves come in response to calls for increased safety after the death of a 19-year-old bicyclist who was hit by a motorcyclist veering off the parkway. The motorcyclist was charged with driving while intoxicated and second-degree vehicular manslaughter.

The DOT is also considering a proposal to install a "guide rail" along the bike path, Fuschillo said. The structure would consist of a wooden base topped by 3-foot-high posts bearing white reflectors. State DOT officials would not comment on the proposal yesterday, saying only that it's still in the "idea stage."

Fuschillo said he has met twice this week with DOT representatives and the family of Matthew Scarpati, the bicyclist killed July 20 just north of Goose Creek Bridge.

He said the DOT on Monday will begin painting stripes on the right lane of the northbound parkway to delineate it as a shoulder instead of a traffic lane, a move that will add an 11-foot strip to the existing 10- to 12-foot buffer. Officials expect to complete the work by Labor Day, he said.

Fuschillo said he hopes next week to get details from the DOT on other safety measures being considered for the path, which runs from Cedar Creek Park on Merrick Road in Seaford to the parking field at the Jones Beach Theater.

"I'm pleased that the DOT is moving forward with some necessary steps, but we'll see what the final plan is to provide greater safety measures," he said, adding that Scarpati's parents, two brothers and two friends attended the first meeting and support the measures being considered.

An average of 1,000 people use the bike path every day, the DOT said, making it one of the most popular in the state.

The department considered installing a guide rail between the parkway and the bike path in 2005 but never got funding.

Civic activist Richard Schary of Bellmore, who was on a DOT citizens advisory committee in 2005, said Thursday "it's about time" the DOT took such action.

"I've been afraid to use this bike path because of the closeness to traffic," he said. "It's almost impossible to enjoy yourself with cars whizzing by 10 feet away. Sometimes it takes something like this to bring the public's attention to something."