Mobilizing the Region

Fast traffic has made Main Street, in Smithtown, dangerous for pedestrians.

The Complete Streets law to make roads safer for all has yet to be signed by Governor Cuomo. But NYSDOT Commissioner Joan McDonald has a unique opportunity to put her stamp on a high-profile safety project in downtown Smithtown, at an intersection [...]

Sandi Vega, a resident of Wantagh, NY, has been working to improve street safety since her daughter Brittany was killed while crossing Sunrise Highway, one of the most dangerous roads in the state, last year. Sandi contacted Tri-State several months ago, and has been speaking out for local intersection improvements and state reforms. She has been collecting signatures in support of a state complete streets law that will ensure major roads are designed with the needs of everyone in mind: walkers, cyclists, and drivers.

Sunrise Highway.

February 17th, 1996 was the best day of my life.  That was the day that a beautiful 8 lb 2 ½ oz baby girl named Brittany Lee Vega entered this world.

When Brittany was three, we moved to my hometown of Wantagh, a small community in Nassau County, New York. Wantagh had the best education you could ask for; it was a Blue Ribbon School District, and that’s what I wanted for my little girl. She was a straight “A” student who excelled in everything she set her mind to. She loved art, music, science and math. Her extracurricular activities included guitar, swimming and singing. Little did I realize that it is not just the schools we needed to be concerned about as parents, but the more basic elements of life—like whether or not the streets we lived on were safe and “complete.”

Not every street fit that description. We had recently allowed Brittany to cross a four-lane avenue, but had forbid her to cross Sunrise Highway, a curving, 6-lane road that runs through the heart of our busy town with the speed limit of an expressway — a whopping 50 mph — and no count-down clocks for pedestrians. A few years back, I had heard a mother screaming as she ran down my block, “My baby! My baby!” Her 12-year old son had been hit by a car as he crossed Sunrise Hwy. on his bike. I dreaded that ever being me, and teary-eyed, told Brittany what I had seen.

Brittany entered her freshman year at Wantagh High School in September 2010. The first two exciting weeks of school had passed when Brittany asked me if I could drive her to school instead of taking the bus as usual. I told her I couldn’t leave her three younger siblings that early in the morning, and she disappointingly said “okay.” Neither of us said anything more about it, and I assumed she did as I told her. Brittany was a very good girl; she listened to what I asked of her (aside from keeping her room clean and eating her veggies) and when she did get in trouble, she even agreed with her punishments, knowing when she was in the wrong. She knew she was not allowed to leave the house alone, even to walk around the block, unless she had a friend with her.

The night before Brittany was killed was like any other.  At dinner, we talked about having her close friend over and me making my famous chili dish (one of Brittany’s favorite meals). The following night we planned on finally dying her hair, something that was very exciting to Brittany since I usually disagreed about her choice in color. This time we compromised. I went to sleep that night exhausted.

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