I didn’t know exactly what was going on the day of July 11th but I certainly knew it was BIG. I live on 4th Street, between Jerusalem Avenue and Broadway. The portion of our block closest to Broadway is very narrow. It comes with parking and traffic challenges that being a new resident to the neighborhood was not anticipated.
While I appreciate and am proud that Hicksville was able to host the Fire Department Drill Tournament I am baffled by the lack of notification or concern given to the residents surrounding the area. I was not informed that my block would be subjected to increased traffic due to the drill road closures. By increased traffic I mean for hours we suffered through cars being backed up the entire length of the block. We couldn’t get on or off our block!
To make matters worse, there wasn’t any police presence directing traffic across busy Broadway nor 4th street. The narrowness of the street should dictate some form of traffic control procedure/presence be put in place. While it might be acceptable and not a nuisance on other blocks in the area because of their size, 4th street cannot handle this kind of traffic.
The article in the Hicksville News stated that Hicksville would hold a Labor Day parade every year which is why they have the proper facilities to hold a parade and motorized drill. With this type of history I would expect someone would know the volume of traffic being detoured, the effect it would have and a plan for the roads.
I am asking that the parade official Bill Hickey and other civic leaders take 4th street into consideration for future events/parades in the area. 4th street can be closed to traffic during events with highly anticipated attendance. 4th street is a constantly being used as a cut through, but to have our quality of life interrupted every time “we” want to celebrate something is asking too much. We on 4th street want to celebrate too!
Kathleen Hansen
