Letters

On March 9, a sign went up on Somerset Avenue restricting right turns onto Hill Street during the evening rush hour — even though a public hearing to discuss the restriction is scheduled for this upcoming March 21, along with a vote by the Southampton Village trustees to approve the measure. Yet, under the stewardship of Trustees Bill Manger and Gina Arresta, it is already a done deal. The fix was in.

The sign says the restriction will be “strictly enforced,” but have the village trustees given the slightest thought to how police are meant to enforce the law? Motorists still will be able to access the affected roads to make left turns, but could at the last moment turn right — and then what will the police do? Will they see the evening rush hour reduced to a crawl as they attempt to ticket motorists along a nonexistent shoulder at a notorious choke point on the edge of the village?

I predict this criminalization of our friends and co-workers who live to points west will escalate into class warfare. The residents of Somerset Avenue may cluck their tongues behind their Hunter Douglases, but their distress is minimal compared to the suffering of those stuck in commuter traffic.

Let’s work toward real solutions to traffic problems and not just switch deck chairs on the Titanic.

Steven Welch

Southampton