County Hub Transportation Alternatives Discussed

The list of alternatives for transportation methods in the Nassau County Hub area will eventually be narrowed down to one.

That is the hope of Jeff Stiles, project manager for Jacobs Engineering, the firm that is spearheading the study.

"We would like to whittle our choices down to a few by next year and hopefully have one good alternative by say 2013-14," said Stiles at Wednesday's combined Hub meeting and open house.

The list includes a possible updated MTA bus system or a lite rail line covering an 11.7 square mile area from the Mineola Intermodal Center to Nassau University Medical Center.

"It's our highest traffic generated area in the county," said Stiles. "You have downtown Mineola with Winthrop Hospital, Nassau Community College, the Coliseum and Roosevelt Field all included in a twelve-mile zone."

The meeting included a brief half-hour presentation by Jacobs Engineering and an open house, which allowed the general public to view analytical charts and graphs and voice their opinion on the proposed project.

"I'm concerned about the parking situation if the rail line is built," said Elaine Norland of Mineola. "Will there be enough spaces for every one to park if they are commuting?"

Stiles said that once a shorter list of alternative modes of travel have been introduced, the Environmental Review Board and federal government will take a thorough look and tie up all loose ends like parking availability and frequency of service issues.

"The important thing is that we get the public's input before deciding on choosing a final alternative," said Stiles.

A follow up meeting is scheduled in the winter where more technical analysis will be looked at.