Since the completion of the repaving and striping of Route 590 near Route 104, my office has been inundated with complaints that the new lane configurations are confusing and potentially dangerous.

In response to the public outcry, I immediately engaged the regional DOT office to address the situation. On Monday November 8th, I hosted a public forum at Eastridge High School with Acting Regional Director Robert Traver and other DOT traffic safety, construction and consultant engineers.

Nearly 300 residents attended in order to directly voice their objections to the new 590 design and request changes be made as soon as possible.

While I believe the bulk of the 590 project was well executed and is beneficial to our community, I agree with many of the views expressed Monday. I am most concerned that the uncertainty caused by the new lane striping presents a very real safety hazard for drivers.

It is my hope that DOT will devise and implement alterations before the first snowfall and, more importantly, before any avoidable tragedies occur.

I want to thank Acting Director Traver and his team for their hard work and willingness to participate in this process. I am also grateful to the many residents who took the time to join us and offer their opinion.

I will keep you informed as we move forward to resolve these issues. It is critically important that 590, 104, Sea Breeze Drive and East Ridge Road be safe and welcoming gateways to Irondequoit and I will continue to make sure they are.