Residents Call For Closing Dale Street Off From County Road 39

Led by a Dale Street couple, a group of Southampton Village neighbors have petitioned the Village Board to block the northern end of their street off from County Road 39, citing possible safety hazards caused by motorists rushing onto their side street to avoid traffic lights on the busy thoroughfare.

Paul and Susan Lyons presented a petition signed by 13 residents of Dale Street to the board on Tuesday, September 20. In response, Mayor Mark Epley said the village would conduct a traffic study. He added, however, that he feels the problem will be lessened once County Road 39 is widened.

Suffolk County officials have been planning to add a second eastbound lane to the 1.5-mile span between North Sea Road to Montauk Highway in Water Mill. That project was last projected to begin sometime this fall.

Dale Street lies south of County Road 39. To the west, County Road 39 intersects with North Sea Road and to the east with North Main Street.

The Lyonses pointed out that their street is different from other streets because it is narrower, lacks sidewalks and is not a main thoroughfare and said that more motorists are turning onto their street to avoid traffic lights.

“And they’re just going so fast,” Ms. Lyons said. “We’ve got some young people who are moving in on the street, with young children and dogs. We’ve got older people who would like to walk on the street, but are afraid. We have some second-generation people on the street who would like to see it return to what it was. It was a quiet neighborhood street.”

She said turning from Dale onto County Road 39 is also treacherous because the highway traffic is blind to Dale Street. Digital speed indicators and extra police have not made a difference, she said.

Mr. Lyons told the board that he and his wife were unable to contact 12 homeowners on the street and that Trustee Nancy McGann, who lives on that street, abstained from signing the petition.

Meanwhile, two Dale Street residents wrote letters to the board opposing the request.

Robert Williams and Elizabeth Stringham, who both said they were longtime residents of the street, wrote in separate letters that blocking off the street’s northern end would hinder access to emergency vehicles and maintenance crews.

Board members noted that traffic-calming requests are common in the village.