County Examining Traffic Safety Near Hills East

The Suffolk County Legislature is now looking to make Vanderbilt Parkway safer for drivers and pedestrians after numerous accidents have plagued the roadway.

The most recent incident to garner community attention took place in November, when a student from Half Hollow Hills High School East was injured in a hit-and-run directly outside of the school while he attempted to cross the road.

That accident prompted Joshua Shinbrot, a senior at High School East, to revive a petition he started last January, which called for traffic lights to be installed near the school. He originally created the petition after a previous crash near the school's exit left a Hills East alumna with permanent brain damage. 

"She is the sister of a student in my grade and the incident outraged myself and a lot of my friends," Shinbrot said in an earlier interview. "I decided that I would put a pettion together to ask the Suffolk County government to install more traffic lights."

This time, the petition was done online and garnered more than 700 signatures.

Shinbrot brought the petition to Legis. Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills), who announced this month that traffic engineers will complete an analysis of Vanderbilt Parkway and determine its safety needs. The study will take into account the entire stretch of the road from Half Hollow Road to Deer Park Avenue.

The legislator praised Shinbrot's efforts during the PTA Council Legislative Brunch.

"Our community can be proud of him," Stern said. "I had a great experience working with him."