Letters

The time has come to question the qualifications of senior management at the county level responsible for oversight of the planned roadwork projects for County Road 39 and North Sea Road (County Road 38) [“Resurface, Yes. Sidewalks, No: Public Weighs in on $16.5 Million North Sea Road Project,” 27east.com, March 29].

It would appear that the staff assigned to draft the plans was given only a set of data, a plat and the funding program guidelines. It is hard to believe that said staff had the opportunity to conduct field trips to the designated roadways to observe traffic patterns at different times, pedestrian interactions, or the needs of local businesses, and to incorporate these observations into the two flawed proposals.

Suffolk County Chief Engineer Bill Hillman displayed his own lack of familiarity of the North Sea Road “improvement” plan, the area and actual conditions on North Sea Road when, during the March 28 Zoom meeting, he referred to the businesses on the west side of North Sea Road as being on “... um, the north side of the road,” when the plat shown on the screen clearly displayed the usual arrow designating north.

Mr. Hillman further indicated that sidewalks were required under county “complete streets” legislation. This is incorrect, as sidewalks are discretionary under that program.

Finally, whatever you think of the need — or not — for all those miles of proposed sidewalks, their maintenance will fall on the Town of Southampton’s taxpayers. To be safe and useful for pedestrians or cyclists, and to avoid potential liability, sidewalks must be reliably cleared of snow, ice and rampant weeds year round; cracks must be patched; and additional street lighting may be required for safety.

Barbara Fair

Southampton