After repeated calls from Tri-State and safe street allies for additional funding for complete streets implementation in Suffolk County, it appears the County Legislature is primed to create a Complete Streets Fund in its 2015-2017 Capital Program. Scheduled for a final vote tomorrow, the proposed amendment to the Capital Program calls for $250,000 a year – beginning in 2016 and each subsequent year – to be dedicated to building infrastructure that enhances the mobility and safety of all users of Suffolk’s roads.

The amendment has been championed by Legislator Rob Calarco and supported by Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory as a means of facilitating the implementation of the County’s complete streets law adopted in December of 2012.

Suffolk County has some of the deadliest roads for pedestrians and cyclists in the region. A Tri-State analysis found that 122 pedestrians were killed on roads in Suffolk County between 2010 and 2012, and according to Governor Cuomo’s Traffic Safety Committee, 22 cyclists and 278 motorists and passengers were killed in Suffolk County during the same time period. There were also 90,000 crashes in Suffolk County, which resulted in 52,000 non-fatal injuries.

If adopted, this Complete Streets Fund will go a long way towards creating the safe infrastructure needed to curtail such tragic events on Suffolk County’s roadways. But unfortunately, this fund is likely to apply only to projects under Suffolk County’s jurisdiction. More needs to be done at the State level to identify additional funding for road safety infrastructure. Only a paltry .57 percent of all of NYSDOT 2014-2017 funding for projects on Long Island will be spent on bicycle and pedestrian projects, a 24 percent cut over previous years.

Kudos to Suffolk County’s legislators for stepping in to help fill this gap.