Dan Burden, a national authority on traffic, pedestrian safety and street design, led a walking audit with local elected officials, civic groups and advocates along Sunrise Highway in Valley Stream, Baldwin and Freeport on Thursday.

Sunrise Highway, a multi-lane thoroughfare that runs through each community’s downtown, is routinely ranked as one of the most dangerous roadways in the region for walking. According to a Tri-State Transportation Campaign analysis of pedestrian fatality data, from 2010-2012 eight pedestrians were killed along Sunrise Highway in Nassau County. Over the same time period, there were 94 crashes between motorists and pedestrians and 32 crashes involving motorists and cyclists along Sunrise Highway alone.

The New York State Department of Transportation is in the process of developing a pedestrian safety plan for the Sunrise Highway corridor, from the Queens border to the Suffolk County border. According to NYSDOT’s website, this $2.7 million project is in development, but unfortunately the agency has not reached out to local communities for input into the plan.

The communities of Valley Stream, Baldwin and Freeport are all working on downtown revitalization projects, and all three have been calling for safety improvements on Sunrise Highway to make it easier to walk and bike — which also helps support local businesses and reduce congestion. In a statement, the DOT said: “We’re…working with local communities on enhancing highway safety education for motorists and pedestrians while ensuring that traffic laws are being enforced.”

That’s news to the broad cross-section of local elected officials, civic groups and business associations from the communities that participated in yesterday’s walking audit. In fact, David Viana, president of the Baldwin Civic Association had this to say in response to NYSDOT’s statement:

The Baldwin Civic Association was unaware that the DOT had been working with communities on a project to redesign Sunrise Highway and hope the DOT will reach out to us and all of the other community groups soon. We appreciated hearing the recommendations yesterday by Dan Burden of WALC. We believe Sunrise Highway can be redesigned in a way that is beautiful, safe and efficient for all users.

NYSDOT should be commended for its willingness to bring safety measures to this treacherous stretch of roadway, but it is imperative, the groups participating in yesterday’s event say, that a redesigned Sunrise Highway must reflect the community’s vision. Burden’s recommendations for Sunrise Highway are expected later this summer.