Southampton Trustess Approve Name Change Of Canoe Place Roads

The Southampton Town Trustees, at a meeting on July 9, approved a proposal to change the names of two roads within the town that are currently named Canoe Place Road.

Old Canoe Place Road and Canoe Place Road—beginning at North Road and continuing to Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays—will be combined under the moniker Old Canoe Place Road. Canoe Place Road, east of Hills Station Road in Shinnecock Hills, will be renamed Old Canoe Place Road East.

The change will not affect the town-owned Canoe Place Road just west of the Shinnecock Canal.

The proposal was a revival of an identical proposal voted down by the board at a meeting in February, at which Trustees Ann Welker and Bill Pell voted against the change.

Earlier this month, the board voted 4-1, with only Mr. Pell dissenting. Ms. Welker explained that she changed her vote because this time around she felt the board did its “due diligence” by sending certified letters to 53 homeowners living on the roads.

The initial proposal was brought to the board last July after Assistant Town Attorney Kara Bak expressed concern that the similarity between the names of the Trustee-owned roads—as well as the town-owned road—made it difficult for emergency responders to navigate the area.

“I think it’s a good thing that we move on this,” Trustee President Ed Warner Jr. said. “It will maybe save lives in the future.”

The name change was supported by members of the Hampton Bays Fire Department as well as Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki, who confirmed those concerns in a letter to the Trustees last year.

“We feel it provides clarity when dispatching resources to emergency calls,” Chief Skrynecki wrote. “As such, we believe it would improve public safety.”

Trustee Scott Horowitz agreed: “I think public safety should be a priority—this is about public safety.”