West Babylon: Corridor Opportunity Analysis

If one asks the residents of West Babylon to locate the center of their hamlet, most residents would point to the intersection of Babylon Farmingdale Road (State Route 109) and Little East Neck Road (County Road 95). From a land use perspective, this makes sense because this is where most of the shopping is as well as their High School and other community services.

It is a strategic location in other ways as well: Within a quarter mile in all directions are compact neighborhoods. Within a half-mile, through walkable and bikable neighborhood streets are the West Babylon Community Youth Center, the Anthony Sanchez Memorial Park, West Babylon Junior High School, the Public Library and other destinations. A little more than a mile away is downtown Babylon and train station, and two miles away, Lindenhurst and its train station. Within a mile there is a beautiful chain of open spaces extending from Belmont Lake State Park, to Southards Pond Park, to Argyle Park adjacent to downtown Babylon and the train station.

But if you ask West Babylon residents where the nearest ​“downtown” is, they will point to the Village of Babylon, about a mile away. This is where the young residents go to enjoy a night out or catch a train to New York City. That is because the Village of Babylon has a true ​“Main Street:” buildings define the space of the street by creating a lively, uniform and pedestrian-scaled street wall. There is a diversity of uses mixed side by side in a fine grained pattern.

In West Babylon, on the other hand, the center is dominated by the two major roads designed for heavy auto traffic, and which between them move on average 36,483 cars a day, peaking at 1,745 vehicles during rush hour. Buildings do not define public spaces. There is a somewhat diverse mix of uses, but these tend to be in large, single-purpose blocks as opposed to a fine-grained mix. This defeats any real sense of place, let alone a ​“Main Street” or true village center. This intersection is unattractive and dangerous, in particular for the high school students, teachers, and staff who cross this intersection to shop. And while this location has a lot of commercial activity and civic uses, there are no attractions for young people here. A comparison of the land use and building footprint plans of these two places makes this comparison clear.

West Babylon would like to have a more of a center with its own distinct identity. The transformation of this area may never create a ​“Main Street” in the conventional sense. There will always be substantial volumes of through traffic. But it is still possible to create a place here that has many of the features associated with a real downtown and still serve existing travel with fewer lanes for cars.3 This strategic location supports the potential for this center to be:

• safe for pedestrians and bicycles
• attractive
• good for the existing businesses
• enlivened by the concentration of diverse activities
• well connected to the surrounding neighborhoods

At a community workshop that was convened in July, the important point was made that while this intersection is the logical place for a new center, it is not the true geographic center of the entire hamlet: most of the land area and a majority of the population lives north of Sunrise Highway (Rt. 27). Discussions about connectivity and programming need to engage this part of West Babylon as well if this is to be a true center for the entire hamlet.