Driving throughout Long Island is always a challenge. Over the past several months motorists have been greeted with blaring lights, traffic detours and heavy equipment chewing up our roadways. These roadways are raked, patched and tarred and then receive a smooth coating of blacktop. After crews apply white striping and lift off the orange cones, traffic again flows until the next major repair years down the road.

Recently, the State of New York completed a resurfacing project on Route 110 (Broadway) and Merrick Road. After all of the trucks and barricades were removed, I noticed that absolutely nothing was done to enhance the scenic quality or safety of the roadway. Along Route 110, one walking or driving is greeted with a two lane highway and parking lane in each direction, with a lifeless paved median running down the middle. Concrete sidewalks border the streets in an unbroken line without a tree, flower or bench in site. The situation along Merrick Road is the same. Having just completed multi-million dollar roadway improvements, it seems illogical that the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) would not have put at least some thought into beautification.

There are 14,036 miles of paved roadways in Nassau, Queens and Suffolk. This vast network of streets and highways is equal to nearly five roundtrips between Montauk and Los Angeles. With two-sides along each roadway there exists more than 28,000 miles of road frontage to be planned and cultivated. Yet landscape and scenic views have taken a back seat.

The DOT is planning a major upgrade of the Nichols Road corridor (CR97) leading to the Stony Brook University and Hospital from Sunrise Highway (Route 27) to North Country Road (Route 25A). Five alternative schemes have been proposed ranging from building an additional traffic lane on the existing median to a complex series of inter-changes at different grades. The project costs are estimated at between 100 million and 380 million taxpayer dollars. The proposal shows little attention to tree planting, landscaping, pedestrian crossings or scenic interests.

Streets and roadways are our largest publicly held asset and have an immense impact upon our daily lives. The DOT estimates that public highway usage in New York will increase by 35% over the next 20 years. It's time to rethink our public space and plan intelligently.

Those weed infested black-topped medians along Route 110 should be dug up and planted with trees and grass. Crosswalks should be installed. Benches should be placed on these islands so that seniors and children can have a safe refuge before crossing the wide thoroughfare. We forget that 30 percent of Long Islanders cannot drive because they are too young, too old or physically or economically disadvantaged. Lush, full trees should be installed along Merrick Road. Amityville is the gateway to Suffolk County and it should be distinctive, not just an extension of thoughtless sprawl.

Why are there tended medians with grass and trees along Route 106 in Muttontown and along Northern Boulevard in East Norwich, but only lifeless concrete medians along Route 110 in North Amityville? Are not these three state roadways subject to the same planning and controls?

The linkage between scenic beauty and economic vitality is clear. Vibrant landscapes make vibrant communities. With global warming and the environment on everyone's mind, let's think green and turn our roadways into greenways!

The writer is an Amityville resident and attorney, and a candidate for a master's degree in Historic Preservation at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.