Dan Burden caught the attention of listeners when he said there would be 50 more parking spaces behind town hall if the spots were re-configured. The statement was made to several members of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association on their way to take Mr. Burden to dinner at Canterbury Ales. They walked through the parking lot behind town hall, to get his opinion on a few more issues.

Mr. Burden is the executive director of Walkable Communities, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation formed solely to assist business and community leaders in their quest to improve local pedestrian and traffic conditions. He led a public walking tour and workshop in Oyster Bay on Saturday, April 21. The day-long event, sponsored by the Oyster Bay Main Street Association, attracted over 50 local residents who enthusiastically "experienced the streets" through Mr. Burden's expert eyes.

He has 25 years of experience in developing, promoting and evaluating traffic calming practices, alternative transportation facilities, and sustainable community design.

Mr. Burden has worked in hundreds of cities and towns from Maine to Hawaii including, quite recently, Huntington, Long Island. Eric Alexander, program director of Sustainable Long Island, praised Mr. Burden's innovative work on Gerard Street, adding that "his unique combination of practical experience and problem solving methods ensure that he will bring remarkable insight to Oyster Bay."

In speaking about the Town Hall lot, Mr. Burden said the spaces are wider than needed and the parking lanes are more than generous. Instead of following the traditional comment that no town employees should park in what should be customer parking, he said there were enough parking spaces in town. What is needed is better use of the existing space.

Mr. Burden spoke of the parking lot by the present Oyster Bay LIRR train station as being not needed. He suggested stores in that area with housing above them. The three story houses would have views of the waterfront. His statement was a shock to listeners, but was bolstered with his talk of places where more parking was available. Besides the 50 spaces behind town hall, he said there were about 35 more spots behind Townsend Square - again after re-configuring the lot.

He suggested diagonal parking on Larrabee Street and offered this mantra: "Get rid of 10 percent of off-street parking each year and get better on-street parking! That is done by adding 15 percent more on street parking - where the money is!"

He suggested diagonal parking on the side streets. He said there are 500 to 800 parking spaces not being used now in the hamlet area.

He suggested the parking lot behind Townsend Square would work better with one way in (off Summit Street) and one way out, (down Church Street) which would add more parking in that area.

Listening to Mr. Burden, and seeing it through his eyes made the town come alive. He suggested the center of town is located in the alleyway between Townsend Square and Terrific Ten: perpendicular to West Main Street.

Imagine it with benches and trees and then add a long vista across the parking lot to the foot of the hill in front of the Oyster Bay Community Center.

That alley-area was originally intended for just such a treatment when it was planned. The new element was the vista, through the parking lot. He suggested a coffee shop or a landscaped focal point at that end.

Dan Burden, began the walk saying that successful towns are inviting to people of all ages and walks of life. Mr. Burden began the tour by asking for volunteers to play the role of an elderly person, a child, and a person with physical disabilities. As the tour moved behind Townsend Square, through the municipal lot and down East Main Street toward the High School, Burden drew participants' attention to the factors that make walking around Oyster Bay difficult, all the while snapping digital photographs.

Rotarian Rich Cieciuch, playing the role of an "80-year-old man," sat down with a smile on the bench at the end of the parking lot between the library and Christ Church, created by Rotarians. Mr. Burden pointed out that this bench was the first seating place in six blocks. Mr. Burden also pointed out that the wide traffic lanes and 30 mph speed limit discourage walking and limit the amount of on-street parking. The sign was on East Main Street in the area leading to DBSC, the library and the high school areas.

Later during his workshop, Mr. Burden showed how the street could be slowed down by narrowing the car lanes, adding a small center median and extending the sidewalk on both sides to allow safer pedestrian traffic.

The group continued down South Street and around to Theodore Roosevelt Park, then back into town where Mr. Burden examined the small park adjacent to the Post Office: Townsend Park where the Derby-Hall bandstand is located.

A local resident recently asked why there are no benches in the small park, only canons.

Acknowledging the historic architecture and scale of the hamlet, Mr. Burden pointed to neglected alleyways and public spaces that, if improved, would certainly enhance the downtown character and invite more people to stroll the streets.

Later, at the end of the workshop held at DBSC, Mr. Burden suggested a walkway behind the small shops on East Main Street, from South Street, where you can enter next to Uwe's, through the parking lot that ends at White's Street. Looking out the window, there were already young people taking advantage of the idea. They were already using the shortcut proving it would be an asset to the community.

The group then proceeded down to Maxwell Avenue toward Roosevelt School, where Jerritt Gluck and others described dangerous traffic conditions as parents pick up and drop off school children.

Mr. Burden suggested a traffic roundabout, in front of the school where West Main Street meets Lexington Avenue then promised to provide more information during his workshop that afternoon.

Later he explained how roundabouts allow the driver to only have to check what is coming from the left, as they meld in with the circulating traffic. It eliminates the need of a traffic light that can halt the flow of cars.

During the workshop, Burden emphasized the importance of community planning, saying that a town that fails to create a vision for itself will have one created by others in an ad hoc way, project by project. He invited all those present to write down five qualities of Oyster Bay that they valued and post them on a wall. Among the most popular qualities were beauty, safety and history. Mr. Burden pointed out that the emphasis on history was unusually strong, something he finds in no more than 5 percent of the towns he visits. He said, "Hearts beat to the same pulse." Towns know what they are: local residents' answers always fall into a similar pattern.

Mr. Burden illustrated a number of features common to vibrant town centers, including clear signs, low speed limits, plantings, benches, bicycle and pedestrian pathways, and effective crosswalks. Things could be more green, he suggested. He suggested a public bathroom behind town hall and said there should be a police booth next to it because it makes people feel safer with their presence. He said a good environment considers seniors and the disabled because 84 percent of people as they age have a permanent disability of some sort.

Interestingly more pedestrian friendly crosswalks were suggested by Michael Galante, the traffic planner for Fredrick P. Clark Associates, working with the Quality Communities Steering Committee.

David Lamb, president of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association, said "We consider ourselves lucky that Dan Burden's calendar permitted him to visit our hamlet on very short notice. His input will enhance the work of the Oyster Bay Hamlet Plan Steering Committee, and give us all another useful tool as we move together to revitalize Oyster Bay."

During his talk, Mr. Burden told the story of one of his heroes. The man, an engineer changed the traffic patterns of a city at a cost of $1.8 million and after a year, the city received $1.8 million in sales tax from the area he changed. The engineer had convinced the city to invest in changing its transportation patterns and it paid off in wiping out the cost of the changes in one year.

Mr. Burden loved the Bonanza stand but said there was no place to sit and noted a house nearby with a sign saying "keep off the steps."

He commented that on the walk he saw a woman come out to meet the postman, in her bathrobe. He saw it as a good sign that she felt safe. He suggested a way to see if the town has what is needed by making an imaginary shopping list to see what you can buy on Main Street. Then you know what is needed.

And more, and more, and more!

Mr. Burden has more stories to tell. The Main Street Association is hoping to bring him back in September. Mr. Burden left a CD with them to turn into a tool to inform residents about the changes that are possible.

For additional information, please call Katie Schwab at the Oyster Bay Main Street Association, 922-6982.