3 Long Island projects get $8 million state, federal money to upgrade sidewalks, drainage systems

Residents of Noyac, a largely wooded and residential hamlet in Southampton Town, had for years expressed concerns about a 2-mile stretch of Noyack Road they said was unsafe for pedestrians, Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni said.

Officials and residents also wanted to create a walking path that would extend about 4 miles from the hamlet's Trout Pond Park east toward the Village of Sag Harbor, he said.

Town officials crafted a $4 million plan for the path and sidewalk upgrades, but the project was in danger of stalling due to lack of funds, Schiavoni said.

That changed recently when state officials announced a $2.95 million grant to help get the project started, he said. Combined with $1 million from another state grant and town funds, Southampton officials can press forward with the plan, he said.

The Noyac plan is one of three Long Island projects that will receive a total of nearly $8 million in state and federal grants to upgrade sidewalks and drainage systems, state officials said.

“It is a busy road and they [residents] are concerned about pedestrian safety,” Schiavoni said Thursday. The project would "straighten out some of the intersections" on Noyack Road and add crosswalks and other “traffic calming” measures to the street, which Schiavoni called a “constrained roadway.” 

Southampton and Garden City are among more than 30 communities statewide receiving a total of $97.7 million from the Federal Highway Administration's Transportation Alternatives Program. The program, administered locally by the state Department of Transportation, encourages development of alternative transportation systems such as walking, biking and mass transit, state officials said.

The Village of Garden City will receive $4.03 million to build or rebuild pedestrian curb ramps, state officials said in a release last month. 

Garden City plans to build or reconstruct approximately 250 pedestrian curb ramps at 46 intersections in the village to meet standards set by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, according to grant materials provided by village officials. The 1990 law requires sloped curb cuts that are safe for people using wheelchairs and walkers.

The project also includes raised crosswalks at the Country Life Press Long Island Rail Road station, the Locust School, a public elementary school on Boylston Street and Grove Park, as well as drainage improvements and new signs, village materials show.

Separately, Brookhaven Town is set to receive a $910,000 state grant to replace a culvert carrying water from Swan River beneath the Barton Avenue overpass, state and town officials said. 

The East Patchogue culvert upgrade is among 216 projects in 137 communities statewide receiving a total of $484 million from the BRIDGE-NY infrastructure improvement program, officials said.

The state grant is expected to cover the entire cost of the project, which is expected to be started and completed in 2026, Brookhaven Councilman Neil Foley said. The current culvert, installed 63 years ago, is undersized and showing signs of deterioration, Foley said.

With Ted Phillips