I hope Southampton Town avoids excessively micromanaged County Road 39 traffic patterns from the pilot study, which were biased and served personal interest [“Southampton Traffic Experiment Showed Big Improvements in Commute Times During First Week; New Changes Tried This Week,” 27east.com, April 27]. Blinking yellow lights, restricted access, excessive turn limits, police presence, cones and no speed enforcement — it all created confusion and compromised safety.
Charles McArdle has repeatedly used the phrase “few for so many” to justify forced restrictions placed on the Shinnecock Hills and Tuckahoe communities to serve commuters. But what exactly does he mean by “few”? Is it three, 30, 300?
Census data tell a different story. Shinnecock Hills has about 1,944 residents; Tuckahoe, 1,078; and the Shinnecock Nation, 310. Including impacted village residents and businesses, the disrupted population is closer to over 4,000. These are not “a few.”
Southampton Town comprises 18 hamlets, with an estimated population of 69,696, according to the U.S. Census survey for 2023. Consider the populations of Westhampton (3,702), Noyac (4,601), Water Mill (2,218), North Sea (6,517) and North Haven (953) — hamlets where elected officials either live or are familiar with. Would restrictions be acceptable in these areas? Would they be considered as “few”?
These decisions reflect a troubling pattern of selective prioritization. Take the “Picnic Area” beach lawsuit settlement, where 10 affluent Meadow Lane oceanfront homeowners were given preferential treatment, thereby restricting the ocean beach to fewer town residents, the 70,000-plus that they serve.
At the same time, the town continues to spend taxpayer dollars challenging the Shinnecock Nation’s efforts to develop projects, which would benefit tens of thousands of commuters.
It’s time for the town to stop tinkering and pursue smart, inclusive planning that works for everyone. It is estimated that roughly 40,000 commuters travel to the East End daily, with about half heading to East Hampton.
Suffolk County’s October 2024 County Road 39 comprehensive corridor study — suffolkcountyny.gov/CR39 — in sharp contrast, provided thoughtful, data-driven solutions. The study concluded that County Road 39 cannot handle the volume to and from Sunrise Highway and stressed the need for regional, systemwide planning, not piecemeal adjustments.
Dee Sadowski
Southampton
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