Route 110: Corridor Opportunity Analysis

The purpose of Regional Plan Association’s (RPA) work on Route 110 is to develop a set of recommendations which will assist the Town of Babylon and Suffolk County in working with stakeholders to develop a cohesive approach to how planned transportation improvements can improve land use and connections for all users along Route 110, a state owned and maintained roadway. The Route 110 study area looked at the complete corridor from the Village of Amityville to downtown Huntington. In addition to the Town of Babylon, substantial coordination will be required with the Village of Amityville and the Town of Huntington which the corridor passes through. These recommendations stem from an examination of Route 110 at different scales, considering the Route as part of a regional system of land uses, connections, and opportunities.

The recommendations will focus on opportunities to connect the corridor and those who use it, to surrounding parks, schools, new development, and to employment centers that may be a ½ mile or more away from Route 110. One way to facilitate this is through the Town of Babylon’s Sustainable Complete Streets Policy adopted in 2010, the first on Long Island. At a smaller scale recommendations will focus on land use development, pedestrian improvements, and prototypical bus rapid transit (BRT) station layouts. BRT for Route 110 was identified as a key component in Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s Connect Long Island plan, and has been examined as a transportation option in the Town of Babylon’s Route 110 Alternative Analysis (AA). At the smallest scale guidelines to encourage changes in land use around, and improvements in access to, those stations will be recommended. In addition to linking planned transportation improvements to land use development and improved access to and from the corridor, this work can also start a discussion about branding the corridor as a whole or at the smallest scale specific BRT stations.

RPA’s work is tied to additional planning efforts along Route 110. Parsons Brinckerhoff recently completed theAA for the Town of Babylon which looked at a wide-range of transportation alternatives for Route 110. The Village of Amityville via their downtown redevelopment study is planning for transit oriented development along Route 110 and around its LIRR station. The East Farmingdale area, near the intersection of Conklin Street and Route 110 is a key priority for a number of entities. The Town of Babylon released an RFP in 2014 for a master developer for this area. The Town is currently receiving proposals for planning services for site design and the preparation of a form based code. The MTA has budgeted in their next capital plan for planning and engineering services for a new Republic station, and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) released a RFI opening up development opportunities at Republic Airport for a new operator. Further north along Route 110 in the Town of Huntington, BFJ Planning in conjunction with Parsons Brinckerhoff and Urbanomics, is working on the Melville Employment Center (MEC) plan.

RPA’s approach to this process involves the ongoing assistance of Suffolk County, Town of Babylon, Parsons Brinckerhoff and BFJ Planning. Their knowledge of past efforts and ongoing planning and development along the corridor has proven invaluable to RPA’s effort.