
While Southampton Town officials do not expect to receive data on this week’s blinking light trial run on County Road 39 until early next week, they say preliminary observations suggest that traffic flow improved in that corridor during its three-day run.
If the program does prove to be successful, the town will work with Suffolk County to develop a long-term plan to change up the intersection at Tuckahoe Road and County Road 39 to eliminate the traffic light there. That plan could possibly include an ambitious idea: an underpass, similar to the setup at nearby St. Andrews Road.
The three-day program began Tuesday and was scheduled to run through Thursday. Effective from 6 to 9 a.m., it involved switching the tri-colored signal at the intersection to blinking yellow to see if removing the traffic light would reduce traffic backups on busy County Road 39. Left-hand turns from Tuckahoe Road onto County Road 39 were prohibited, as were left-hand turns from County Road 39 onto Tuckahoe Road. Motorists traveling north and south on Tuckahoe Road were not allowed to cross over the main road.
Tom Neely, the town’s director of public transportation and traffic safety, said on Wednesday morning that traffic flow through the intersection the first two days of the program seemed to have improved, although he noted that traffic was still backed up on Sunrise Highway as far west as Hampton Bays at times. The town will not receive actual data on travel times for a couple of days, so the success of the program cannot be determined yet, he said.
“Just based on my visual observations—not any formal or measured timings—the traffic flow along the 39 corridor does seem to be flowing better,” Mr. Neely said. “[But] it’s hard to quantify if there’s been a significant change in the overall travel time.”
Mr. Neely added that data from Tuesday morning may be skewed because a truck broke down just east of the intersection, which caused drivers to merge from the right eastbound lane into the left. The truck had broken down near the Bottle Hampton shopping center at about 7:15 a.m., but traffic appeared to clear up a half hour later, Mr. Neely said, when he went through the intersection himself.
Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman has said that if the county’s data from this week’s program show that travel times on County Road 39 improved by about 10 minutes, then the town will work with county engineers to develop a long-term plan to modify the intersection at Tuckahoe Road. For Mr. Schneiderman, that intersection is particularly important because of Southampton Hospital’s planned eventual move to the Stony Brook Southampton campus, which would bring more traffic, including ambulances.
The supervisor said he discussed the intersection with Bill Hillman, chief engineer at the County Department of Public Works, who drew up a concept design for an underpass at County Road 39. The drawing—which both officials stressed is very preliminary—shows Tuckahoe Road closed off on both sides of County Road 39, as well as several new access points for traffic heading east and west. The underpass would be west of the intersection, where County Road 39 curves to the right, to avoid the expense of having to run the underpass below the Long Island Rail Road tracks.
The plan would also involve opening up what is called North Road, a road just north of the college campus and south of the railroad tracks that is currently closed off. Motorists would be able to access County Road 39 and Tuckahoe Road that way, either by ramps or the underpass, depending on which way they were heading.
Tuckahoe Road north of County Road 39 would be closed to public access, as Mr. Schneiderman said there is an effort by Shinnecock Hills Golf Club to reroute that road, which bisects the golf course, so that it connects to St. Andrews Road instead.
Mr. Hillman said the project would be a $10 million to $15 million endeavor, although there are no discussions yet as to how it could be funded. “From an engineering standpoint, it’s completely realistic,” he said.
“There’s not a whole lot the county can do beyond what has already been done,” he said, referring to the widening of County Road 39 nearly a decade ago.
“The idea’s not so pie-in-the sky,” Mr. Schneiderman added. “The idea would be for it to be large enough to accommodate ambulances and fire trucks, and quickly move people from County Road 39 to the Stony Brook Southampton campus, or to the hospital, in a safe and expedient manner. That’s basically it.”
Mr. Hillman said, though, that if the data from the blinking light program does not show any improvements in traffic, then the intersection will stay the way it is.
“If eliminating the signal at Tuckahoe Road does not make substantial improvements, I think the East End has to live with traffic,” he said. “Extend Sunrise Highway, or live with the traffic.”
Judging from the comments under the previous article, including my own at about 7:30 this morning, the trade parade morning traffic backed up to the top of the hill at the Quogue exits.
THIS IS NOT AN IMPROVEMENT !!!
Chances are good the OVERALL
To quote the article: "Mr. Neely said . . . '[But] it’s hard to quantify if there’s been a significant change in the overall travel time.' "
Time to let sleeping dogs lie . . .
One light eliminated, but you can't go any faster then the people in front of you. And if those people 500 cars in front of you are stopping at the next light, so do the rest of us, all the way back to Hampton bays.
It's just too much traffic on roads that were never meant for this.
We need a crackdown ...more on aggressive drivers, and the lights need to coordinate their timing a little better. The light at PC Richard's and Mcgee heading west are so horrendously out of whack, that when people finally get through them, its completely a contest of who can get ahead of the others.
13 MILES FROM HOME TO WORK. 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE EXPERIMENT.
P.S.: what ever happened to useless Freddy Thiel's local commuter train? Another wasted idiotic pipe dream: build a road.
..
can you imagine if they get the govt to fund the cost of this road swtich!
Wait for the backups if they start to construct that. How many millions in over runs???
Put up a toll just East of Rt 111 and charge $10 bucks a day on weekdays (More $ Per axel for trucks), between the hours of 6 am and 11 pm... maybe $1 dollar for all non resident vehicles other times.
If you are a full time resident of Southampton or East Hampton you would be exempt.
If you are going to carpet bag for work out East ...more you should pay to play... Maybe giving half the $ to road upkeep in the two towns and the second half to CPF.
It would limit the transient trade parade cut back on congestion and give both locals and our roads a break.
Its hard to compete with these guys who come in and work for penuts... often with no insurance and doing up island sub standard work.
also It would not hurt the second home crowd to contribute $1 per trip to road maintenance and conservation.
Acquire the road connecting Tuckahoe to St. Andrews through eminent domain (hint--road is already there), and close off the intersection.
Done!
Acquire the road connecting Tuckahoe to St. Andrews through eminent domain (hint--road is already there), and close off the intersection.
Done!
If you look at the roadways on the college campus (or if you've been there), you can quickly understand how this would ...more be a terrible idea. It's unclear based on that schematic if traffic would continue down Bahn road, or across North Road, but either way it's a terrible idea.
What they should do is try to get people living closer to job sites which are at the eastern end of town. Even if land is more expensive there, they should buy it and build. But they probably won't have the courage because people (ignorantly I believe) are nimby-ists and the politicians want their money ...more for re-election. The eastern end of town is richer and has more clout than the western.
Why would Tuckahoe Rd north of 39 need to be transferred to the Golf Course?
Inquiring minds have to wonder what is going on in Town Hall. Partisan Political Campaign Commercials, Big time taxpayer giveaways to the Union (against rumor has it Labor Counsel's advice), attempts to misuse federal grant funding, give aways to private golf courses.....
Anyone ...more starting to see a pattern here?
It would help to space the flow out on the east side of the tolls. Plus the other above stated benefits. Face it you are a partisan who just wants affordable housing
Getting blue in the face here, repeating this multi-year suggestion, kwhile the rest of you wake up, but . . .
It is an idea whose time has clearly come!
Awaken !!!
If they could only get along lol
How long do we have to wait for the political will to make it happen?
A blind child could see what is needed . . .
Wake up!
PBRTA = Peconic Bay Regional Transportation Authority
PS Shadow Captain you aren't getting any younger. Take the helm and lead. Go for it!
wow very easy math here gang.
some of you have such collectivist minds, never waste a good crisis lets try and push some more left wing agenda "we need mass transit, affordable housing and a Trader Joe's that will solve everything"
No ! What we need a toll with a high tax to work here in the promise land !
If they want to drink our milk then let them wake up at 430 in the morning to work the cow.
It will take them an extra hour and be very frustrating for them to avoid paying there fair share for our road upkeep and sanity!
The Shinnecock Golf Club has always wanted the road privatized. Not happening! An underpass? How about a huge overpass bridge!
They can use lights to their advantage. The center turning lane can be lit with overhead hanging green lights in the direction going East in the morning hours from 7-9 and Red going West. Then it switches ...more to Green going West from 4-6 pm and red to the East. You'll have 3 lanes of traffic moving along including keeping the safe & convenient traffic lights for those of us who live here and need to pull out or in to get to our homes!
Use the 10-15 million to put in shoulders for safety, bury the electric lines, and allow the police to pull the dangerous drivers and speeders over!
I just tuned in to this channel for the first time... Thank you all for remembering !
I was begining to think no own was paying any mind to my humble suggestion.
I dont know if the toll booth idea is possible... but still think it would have a real impact on the situation and is a win win for all of us.
Does anyone know how it could be done ? They do It on Hilton Head why not here ?
Z ? Greger ? Jay ? Lee ? ...
The capital required to annex enough land to push a causeway or highway to Montauk would be staggering. The EIS cost alone would be prohibitive.
The real problem is the exploitation of our home, not the road.
these up island guys dive in here with little to no insurance, charge to little and then do substandard work.
then the local contractors need to explain how you get what you pay for every time they do an estimate.
it would reduce the amount of cars coming in everyday and the exploitation of our ...more local tradesman
"The backlash to creating a toll system would be incredible"
Really? Backlash from who ?
Will you make all potential alternate routes toll roads?
Apr 27, 15 We are not going to be able to stem the flow of traffic caused by the development in Southampton and East Hampton over the years since the big highway to Montauk was dead on arrival. Unfortunately the hoped for limit of development didn't quite work out.
And given that the Town Board has apparently never seen a PDD it didn't love thereby creating even more traffic, the likelihood is that traffic snarls, traffic accidents and ...more a good dose of road rage are only only gonna increase.
Nor is it likely that opposition to that road expansion is any less today than it was than and far more costly now.
But as long as we can dream there are some things we might do to alleviate the aggravation it has caused to the residents and tax payers of Southampton.
The advent of EZ Pass and license plate readers. Charge a toll on Sunrise and Montauk Highway just west of the canal. Say a buck or two bucks a pop. Exempt residents of the Towns of Southampton and East Hampton. Go a step further exempt teachers and health care workers. Take the monies collected from the tolls and apply it to the Town Budget to reduce taxes.
So write to our Assembly person, State Senator and County Legislator and lets get some legislation drafted and passed to ease the pain a wee bit by keeping some cash in our pockets while we sit in traffic.
Would Jonathan Swift be able to come up with a better solution? Probably. But until then just give me the money.
You put up a toll just East of Rt 111 and charge $10 bucks a day on weekdays (More $ Per axel for trucks), between the hours of 6 am and 11 pm... maybe $1 dollar for all non resident vehicles other times.
If you are a full time resident of Southampton or East Hampton you would be exempt.
If you are going to carpet bag for work out East ...more you should pay to play... Maybe giving half the $ to road upkeep in the two towns and the second half to CPF. ...more
It would limit the transient trade parade cut back on congestion and give both locals and our roads a break.
Its hard to compete with these guys who come in and work for penuts... often with no insurance and doing up island sub standard work.
also It would not hurt the second home crowd to contribute $1 per trip to road maintenance and conservation.
Why do you all keep talking about the past (The real problem is the exploitation of our home) ok we all know this Mr Z spare us the history lesson, its to late for that now, we have a problem to fix
"Charge a toll on Sunrise and Montauk Highway just west of the canal. Say a buck or two bucks a pop." No just East of Rt 111 and charge $10 bucks a day .
wow its like you all just want to complain! stop and fix the problem
a real solution instead of pie in the sky but for some reason some of you resist this idea ? very puzzling
I can think of four ways to avoid that toll booth of the top of my head. Do you think of the full scope of what you propose, or just spew ideas with zero forethought?
How much will this system cost to implement?
As far as saving the "locals", you're late to that party by over a decade.
This will eventually become a place of extreme wealth on one end, and rent seekers putting a roof over the head of the working class on the other.
Do you honestly think, for one minute, that politicians (it would have to be local, county and state) would EVER vote LI's first toll booth to the hamptons? Can you imagine the uproar? Forget the trade parade and their arguments which are obvious.
The rich would complain that they spend enough money out east and they ...more shouldn't have to pay a toll and that it would likely slow their commute.
The average day tripper and working class (not trade parade - think hospital, schools, government) would be getting "taxed" to go to work and to spend their tourism dollars.
You can ask for a toll until your blue in the face, but the only chance it would ever have with working is if there was 1 way in and 1 way out.
~ Klingon Proverb
( kande sending )
Adjective
1. Having or showing a feeling of patronizing superiority
Because it seems you missed the mark by quite an extensible margin.
Any excess could be applied to funding the (unconscionably long delayed) Southampton Town Natatorium.
A win-win for both the golfers and the swimmers.
By highhatsize (2699), East Quogue on May 6, 12 11:45 PM
.
it would be irresponsible and civil corruption for the town government members to give away value for nothing in return.
and they should receive substantial for that road ..
..
directing traffic thru shrubland road takes ttraffic right past the golf course nonetheless (a heavy congestion on both sides!) and also past the ex-mayors house .. not sure he wants that
I've got a better solution. JUST STOP BUILDING!! We cannot sustain this any longer. We are polluting our land, our air, and our waters. Just stop.
Saying we should "stop the building" is a solution is the most short-sighted ignorant comment one can make. You must understand the context of the Hamptons, who lives here and how the economy works.
I love the irony of your handle btw: "Nature". It's a really nice touch.
Yes, we have to limit it, ...more and we do with zoning and county standards for sanitary etc. etc. But you show me a place where building and development as been stopped by zoning. It doesn't exist
Under what law, code or whatever would this STOP happen?
Come back to reality.
And again, if we just stopped building, we wouldn't need all those pumbers.
"So that the tradespeople can up the prices they charge us to pay for the toll. We need those trade people. "
That is the point this desperate " so called contractors" do not charge enough.
They create unfair competition to the local guys who do the job right by under biding then doing substandard work
IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN FOLKS!!
Same old song
All road use fees graduated by use, size, weight, residency etc..
Tolls collected could pay for infrastructure improvements.
Mo' people, mo' cars, MO' MONEY !
Now for the political will . . . ...more and VISION!
I guarantee every vendor will add it to their costs, and bill the businesses out here for it. Which, in turn, will be paid for by all of us when stores raise prices to cover those costs as well.
Like I said above, do you people really think about this ****?
:)
The LIRR bridge is an underutilized asset just waiting to be put to work more productively!
The East End Shuttle is part of the solution here, if only people would WAKE UP and think proactively . . .
Plus political will -- ah here's the rub I guess . . .
Hands for anyone who believes that this ridiculously contorted rerouting ...more has anything whatsoever to do with enabling the smoother flow of auto traffic.
they have pretty much cut down ever tree on the property .. they want the wind to play its part because that's a key element of the course design.
..
at least they create their own catch 22 and cant have it all
what are they getting in return?
they already let that smaller road be acquired by the golf course -- who is getting the membership to pull it off ?? someone is because some members have told me ..just haven't figured it out yet