The Lighthouse offers a compelling vision for Long Island, but it’s the details — like its transit plan and traffic impacts — that will determine whether it succeeds.

The second of two scoping hearings concerning the “Lighthouse of Long Island” development, a 150-acre mixed-use project that will include retail, housing and a new arena for the New York Islanders hockey team, brought a packed crowd to Hempstead Town Hall last week. Discussion was dominated by many of the same issues brought up during the first scoping hearing: affordable housing, the environmental impacts of the project, and transportation.

In testimony, the Tri-State Campaign emphasized the need for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to review the project’s impacts on nearby transportation systems, analyze on-street shared parking, and study the benefits of “complete streets” that accommodate transit riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists as well as drivers. At this early stage, the Lighthouse Development Group has proposed a trolley system that would stop both inside and outside the project site, but has not divulged such vital details as the number of parking spaces or the location of transit stations within the site.

Rather than build a new transit system, it might make more sense for the developer to work with Nassau County’s existing transit agencies, like Long Island Bus, to integrate transit into the development design. For example, the developer could build state-of-the-art transit centers for LI Bus within the project site. It would also be in the developer’s interest to promote a sustainable funding agreement for LI Bus, which has been historically underfunded (see, for example, MTR #s 551, 434, and 267).

Many hearing attendees, including the Long Island Progressive Coalition, raised the issue of affordable housing, prompting the Town Board to state publicly that it would be analyzed in the EIS.

Based upon the two scoping hearings, there seems to be great support for this project — even Islander legend Mike Bossy came out to testify in its favor. Tempered support is well warranted, as the Lighthouse project has an opportunity to serve as a model for smart growth development throughout Long Island. However, in order to ensure that the project truly is “smart,” the EIS must address traffic impacts and aim to reduce vehicle miles traveled.