“No U-turn” sign must stay on Sunrise Highway
Eric Tennenbaum says a new No U-Turn sign is making his optical store lose business.
Newsday photo by Bill Davis
A few months ago, a “No U-Turn” sign was installed just west of my office on Sunrise Highway at the Unqua Road intersection in Massapequa. This has caused a situation where it’s difficult to reach my business if you are heading west. Normally, drivers could make a U-turn and pull into our parking lot. Now, they must drive two more traffic lights to our nearest competitor’s lot. We are losing business.
--Eric Tennenbaum, Massapequa
After our call, the New York State Department of Transportation reviewed the new traffic flow configurations. One week later, DOT officials informed us that the “No U-turn” sign would have to stay.
According to DOT spokeswoman Eileen Peters, the northbound section of Unqua Road has an extremely heavy volume of right turns onto Sunrise. In order to keep traffic moving, the DOT chose to program the traffic lights so that Unqua’s right-turners and Sunrise’s westbound left-turners are both given green lights at the same time.
This means U-turners would be an interference. “We’re sorry to hear stores have been affected, but our priority needs to be moving people as efficiently and safely as possible,” said Peters, noting the changes are part of a recent $6.8 million project aimed at improving traffic flow and reducing accidents on Sunrise Highway.
In total, more than 50,000 Long Islanders travel on the Sunrise Highway-Unqua Road intersection daily, Peters said.
Residents with concerns about traffic flow on state roads can contact the DOT’s Regional Traffic Engineering & Safety Office at 631-952-6020.
Michael R. Ebert
