Riverhead Neighbors Push Back on Northern Parkway Parking, Town Considers Safety Changes
Downtown neighbors told the Town Board on March 3 that cars double-park on Northern Parkway outside a newly opened medical-office cluster, blocking sight lines for drivers and pedestrians.
Downtown Riverhead residents told the Town Board on March 3 that cars parking in front of a newly opened cluster of medical offices on Northern Parkway are double-parking and blocking sight lines for drivers and pedestrians, creating a safety hazard. Neighbors raised the complaint during the meeting but the report of the session did not name the speakers or record any immediate town-board action on enforcement.
Separately, L.K. McLean Associates of Brookhaven briefed the Town Board on transportation recommendations for the comprehensive plan update; Ray DiBiase, president of L.K. McLean Associates, gave a rundown of proposals described in the archived presentation as occurring "last Thursday." The consultants are handling the transportation and infrastructure component of the town’s comprehensive plan update.
One of the consultants’ headline recommendations is to prohibit on-street parking for the entirety of Sound Avenue. Under the proposal the roadway would be 43 feet wide compared with Sound Avenue’s existing 66-foot right of way, a cross-section change the consultants argue is needed to meet safety and operational goals. DiBiase told the board, "There’s a strong desire to preserve the rural feeling," reflecting comments raised at hamlet meetings about Sound Avenue’s character. An archived photo credited to Grant Parpan showed traffic along Sound Avenue.
The consultant presentation lists specific intersections for safety and capacity improvements: State Road 25 and County Road 105; Sound Avenue and Edwards Avenue; Route 25A and Wading River–Manorville Road; and the intersection of State Road 25, Peconic Avenue and Roanoke Avenue in downtown Riverhead. DiBiase said the study "encourages a 'transportation mode shift' in transportation" and that the team reviewed crash records, noting "There’s a considerable amount of crash records" and "I think we went back five years." He also highlighted a targeted project: "A major improvement in Riverhead will be the realignment of Edwards Avenue and Route 25," adding, "You’re probably familiar with it because the traffic backs up at Route 25 at that intersection. There’s no left turn lanes."
On near-term capital work, DiBiase said the Department of Transportation is installing left turn lanes at all four of the named intersections and that "The work should be done in 2024." The archived presentation frames those intersection projects as part of a broader push to reduce crashes and shift travel modes along key corridors.
The Northern Parkway parking complaints and the Sound Avenue corridor recommendations were reported as separate items in town proceedings; the materials reviewed do not tie the Northern Parkway double-parking issue directly to the Sound Avenue proposal. Riverhead’s Town Board now faces two tracks of action: addressing the immediate safety concerns residents raised March 3 about parking and sight lines on Northern Parkway while evaluating L.K. McLean Associates’ longer-range corridor and intersection recommendations as part of the comprehensive plan update.
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