Just Sayin': We need street debris to be picked up

We need street debris to be picked up

The streets in Smithtown are a disgrace. They resemble Long Island Expressway entrances and exits.

The past several years, I’ve periodically asked the local highway department to clean up the curbs and road shoulders. I was told the highway department mows and sweeps. That’s it. There is not a team of highway workers who pick up debris on a regular basis.

For years, I have ventured out and cleaned up my own walking path. Random individuals say, “Thank you.” It’s a futile task. I gave up last year.

On recent walks, I pass bottles, mangled cans, glass, cups, paper, pizza boxes, cigars, face masks and unmentionables.

Neighbors are often too busy or just blind to items left on sidewalks and near their curbs. The highway department should take this issue seriously. People should not throw garbage from their cars, and neighbors should make sure theirs is contained and lidded.

Together, we can keep our streets clean.

— Linda A. Smith, Smithtown

Thank you for paving the Northern State

The Northern State Parkway going east from Route 110 through the final exit in Hauppauge was repaved over the summer. Yes, there were the inconveniences of lane closures, bumps in the road and the resurfacing of the road, but they were well worth the smooth, easy and safe roads that have resulted.

Recently, the Northern State Parkway heading west from Hauppauge was next, causing similar inconveniences. For years before being repaved, these sections of the Northern State were dangerous to drivers, tires and bottoms of cars.

Thank you, state Department of Transportation and Gov. Kathy Hochul for authorizing funds for this much-needed work.

— Melody Jacobs, Smithtown

Gov. Kathy Hochul has been doing a great job with the repaving of the Northern State Parkway in western Suffolk County. We drivers are all thrilled. Now, for those of us on the North Shore who use the Sunken Meadow Parkway, we would love a repaving of the area around Exit SM3. It’s been rough riding for a long time.

— Linda Kay, Kings Park

Red lights in orange fog a bad pairing

On summer nights, with my windows open at home, I hear cars racing on Wantagh Parkway. During the day, I see the memorials from grieving families of victims of car accidents.

Recently, though, I went to traffic court for a red-light camera ticket incurred June 7. That was the day that made history for the worst smog here, when Canadian wildfires caused an orange glow.

I was caught in it while driving home. It was impossible to see the red light until I was under it. Pausing in the middle of the intersection, I decided, based on my 55 years of driving, to go through the red light.

The judge would not consider what I said. She asked me if I was in the habit of running red lights. Had she checked, the judge would have seen I have a perfect driving record.

I paid my $150 fine. My speed was 20 miles per hour. Instead of red-light cameras, speed cameras on the parkways would be a better idea.

— Kathi Berlin, Bellmore