Parking Attendants Now at Trader Joe's, Pat's Farms [POLL]

It's no secret that the traffic around in South Merrick and in North Merrick gets a little congested. To help battle that situation and make the streets safer, both shops recently hired people to aid patrons and help manage traffic.

"We decided to implement them because they keep the traffic moving," said Joe, a manager at Pat's Farms. "They help the people back up and pull out and they even help the people load their car. It's safety plus more."

According to Lorraine, the manager at Trader Joe's, the store hired the security guard because "it is a tough parking lot to get out of." (She declined to comment further and Trader Joe's media relations department would not give Patch a statement regarding the staff addition.)

At a recent meeting, the traffic situation by Trader Joe's caused a stir and many said that the new security guard wasn't helping at all.

"There is no left turn signal by , but people are trying to make a left turn. That causes a very dangerous situation," said Meme Wanderman.

Others in attendance thought that it was only a matter of time before an accident or fatality was caused by the congestion.

"I saw a woman walking with a baby carriage over there and she almost got hit," said one attendee. "The drivers don't even look for pedestrians."

"There is a tremendous amount of traffic," said Alan Jasper, member of SMCCA, who suggested putting up a traffic light.