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Sag Harbor Express / Editorials / 1810384

Three Priorities

Former president Bill Clinton speaks with writers Mike Lupica and Ken Auletta.

Former president Bill Clinton speaks with writers Mike Lupica and Ken Auletta. DREW BUDD

Jerry O'Connell representing Montauk's Shagwong at the annual Artists and Writers Celebrity Softball Game.

Jerry O'Connell representing Montauk's Shagwong at the annual Artists and Writers Celebrity Softball Game. DREW BUDD

The annual tradition continues: Mike Lupica smashes a turnip.

The annual tradition continues: Mike Lupica smashes a turnip. DREW BUDD

The 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton once again made an appearance at the Artists and Writers Celebrity Softball Game at Herrick Park in East Hampton this past Saturday, August 21.

The 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton once again made an appearance at the Artists and Writers Celebrity Softball Game at Herrick Park in East Hampton this past Saturday, August 21. DREW BUDD

Bill Clinton spoke just before the start of the 73rd annual Artists and Writers Celebrity Softball Game this past Saturday, August 21.

Bill Clinton spoke just before the start of the 73rd annual Artists and Writers Celebrity Softball Game this past Saturday, August 21. DREW BUDD

Former president Bill Clinton and East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen share a laugh before the start of the game.

Former president Bill Clinton and East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen share a laugh before the start of the game. DREW BUDD

With Bill Clinton calling balls and strikes, artist Walter Bernard throws one of the first pitches of Saturday's game.

With Bill Clinton calling balls and strikes, artist Walter Bernard throws one of the first pitches of Saturday's game. DREW BUDD

Paul Winum was the starting pitcher for the Writers as Bill Clinton was calling balls and strikes for the first few innings.

Paul Winum was the starting pitcher for the Writers as Bill Clinton was calling balls and strikes for the first few innings. DREW BUDD

Editorial Board on Aug 25, 2021

With Memorial Day weekend looming, there are three things Sag Harbor Village must urgently consider adding to the mix to address summer parking woes.

First, it’s imperative and long overdue for Sag Harbor to have a functional shuttle to move people between parking areas and key spots in the downtown area. Last week, Jesse Matsuoka, the local restaurateur, handed the Village Board a proposal for a free shuttle bus that would operate as a pilot program for one year, using the Hampton Hopper and sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Village officials should drop everything and work out all the details to make this happen.

The village is actually well set up for a shuttle running on a continuous loop to various points of interest, and to include parking areas farther away from Main Street. If there is a simple, free, reliable and enjoyable option to get from outlying parking to the heart of Sag Harbor, the struggle to stop circling Main Street in search of spaces and consider other options will get a major boost. The details could be worked out in a couple of hardcore conversations, with the option of tweaking the program in response to conditions this summer.

Second, the village must act with similar haste to get a program in place to use Sag Harbor School District parking lots by village employees during the height of the summer season. The dozens of parking spaces they take up can be freed up for visitors and shoppers — but, again, only if there is a reasonable, convenient alternative. In conjunction with a shuttle, the school lots on Jermain and Montauk avenues are a perfect solution. If more spaces are needed, similar agreements could be struck with some of the churches to allow weekday parking there as well. And the village should utilize its ParkMobile system, if necessary, to make it cost-prohibitive for workers to ignore this option and take up valuable downtown spaces during the workday in summer.

Finally, the village should begin to consider working with third-party ride-sharing apps, like Uber and Lyft, to create strategic drop-off locations in the village, several locations where visitors could end their ride at a spot that’s convenient to restaurants, shopping, the theaters or recreation spots, without requiring the drivers to navigate deep into the busy downtown traffic morass. Even better, coordinate those locations with drop-off and pick-up spots for the aforementioned shuttle. If they are well-placed and visible, they will become convenient alternatives to riders being dropped off right at the front door of their destination.

The traffic and parking problems plaguing Sag Harbor are daunting — but it doesn’t mean a few vital measures won’t have a measurable impact. But it’s time to stop talking about them and actually getting them in place.

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