Water fountains on way back to Plainview-Old Bethpage park

Water fountains next to the tennis courts in Plainview-Old Bethpage Community Park were removed two years ago when the park began going through some improvements. Park employees said new fountains were "on order," but there still is no sign of reinstallation. Communication with the Town of Oyster Bay has not produced any response. Those of us who play there appreciate those fountains, especially in hot weather.

-- Jay Becker, Syosset

You won't need to worry about running out of water this summer, Mr. Becker. The Town of Oyster Bay expects to have the water fountains back in time for the season.

Here's why the park has been without fountains for so long: Installation of new ones had to wait for work on the park's other construction projects, many of which involved new concrete installation and piping replacement, town spokeswoman Marta Kane said. If new pipes and fountains had been installed earlier in the process, it would have been necessary to dig them up before other work could proceed, she said.

"All the work was not completed at the same time the water fountains were removed," Kane said. "We anticipate that all this work will be completed by the end of this coming spring season, at which point we should be able to reinstall the water fountains."

Oyster Bay residents with inquiries involving the town's parks can call 516-797-4128.

In September, we looked at a traffic situation in North Amityville. Residents described chaos as drivers on North Ronald Drive would form two lanes to enter Route 110.

The result: Cars entering Route 110 were getting in each other's way. Some would turn right into one of two northbound lanes. Others would cross those two lanes to reach a left turn/U-turn lane.

So neighbors asked if North Ronald could be marked for two exit lanes, each designated so drivers would know where to line up for their intended lane destination.

The state Department of Transportation said traffic engineers would study the location, and here's what they decided: Two exit lanes is not the best solution.

Still, they agreed that something needs to be done.

The department "will modify the pavement markings to clearly narrow the single outbound lane," spokeswoman Eileen Peters said in a statement. "The correct turning alternative to NY Route 110 will then be clarified and vehicles will be unable to form two exit lanes."

Peters said the engineers reached the decision after examining three years of accidents plus "a review of the roadway geometry and on-site field observations of drivers' actions."

Why not two lanes?

Traffic engineers "must be assured that any change . . . would indeed improve the safety of motorists," Peters said, and they concluded that "two outbound travel lanes would not improve overall safety."

The traffic issue was first brought to our attention by North Ronald resident Lois Thomas. She told us last week she was pleased that the state is taking steps to improve safety at the intersection.

Thomas and other neighbors initially took their concerns to Babylon Town. But it turned out that even though North Ronald is a town street, Babylon has no jurisdiction; that's because within 50 feet of a state road, the state calls the shots.

The work will be done in the upcoming construction season, Peters said.

A measure of quiet has returned to a section of Atlantic Avenue in Lynbrook.

It had vanished several months ago along a stretch of road near Harrison Avenue, home to a number of apartment buildings. After a round of roadwork was completed, a dip in the road remained and produced something akin to a boom when large trucks drove past.

"The house shakes every time a truck goes by," resident Gary Leone told us in the fall. Making the problem worse, Leone said, some of those trucks drive down Atlantic Avenue at 3 or 4 a.m.

He contacted us after he called Nassau County -- Atlantic Avenue is a county road -- and wound up getting switched from one office to another. "I just want the street to be fixed," he said.

It was, shortly after we notified the Department of Public Works. When we checked in last week, the repair appeared to have survived winter.

Best of all, Leone said, the house doesn't shake any more.