Traffic Study Recommendations Shared at Most Recent Southampton Village Board Meeting; Residents Frustrated at Return of Somerset Barrier

The results of a traffic study conducted late last month that focused on commuter “cut-through” traffic on several residential streets in Southampton Village led to new recommendations for addressing what has been an animating issue for the residents who live in the affected neighborhoods.

After considering a few other options, engineers from the consulting firm Nelson Pope Voorhis recommended restricting right turns on Somerset Avenue, Bishops Lane and Corrigan Street on weekdays between the hours of 3 and 7 p.m. so that vehicles do not have the opportunity to use those roads as a shortcut from Hill Street back up to County Road 39.

According to Deputy Mayor Gina Arresta, motorists, heading east to west, are cutting south off County Road 39A, often initially by way of David Whites Lane, and then proceeding in various ways west through the village, eventually to Hill Street — and then they look to cut through those residential streets, north, back to County Road 39.

The evening commute has been the prime time for the problem, according to Arresta, who worked alongside fellow Trustee Bill Manger to work on solutions for the traffic problem.

The best way to alleviate congestion through those neighborhoods has been a hot topic of debate among residents and has, at times, put the residents who live on those roads at odds with each other.

The village decided to temporarily install a police barricade at the north end of Somerset Avenue at the end of last year, after residents of that street pleaded with the village to take action to mitigate what they said was an immediate and serious safety concern presented by speeding commuter traffic on the street, which has two 90-degree blind curves.

The village then faced backlash from residents on nearby streets, particularly those living on Bishops Lane, who said that erecting the barricade, which prevented motorists from being able to use the road as a cut-through, drastically increased traffic congestion on their parallel streets, and amounted to unfair special treatment for one group of taxpaying residents.

The barricade was removed on January 20, so NPV could conduct its traffic study, which took place over two weeks. Many of the residents on Bishops Lane and Corrigan Street, as well as others who use the road, were frustrated to discover that the barricade had returned on February 3, and they expressed those frustrations at the most recent Village Board meeting on February 9.

On January 19, Arresta sent an email to Bishops Pond resident Jane Held explaining that the barriers would be removed for the two-week traffic study, then put back up again until recommendations from the traffic study could be implemented.

“The barriers were placed in the fall after yet another near-miss of a resident walking their dog from a speeding vehicle occurred,” Arresta explained in the email. “This followed an incident of a truck overturning from speeding on one of the 90-degree turns in that neighborhood.” She explained that the barriers were erected on the street as a “temporary safety measure.”

“This is a safety issue for those that reside in the Somerset area,” the email read. “We plan on moving this along and, hopefully, have the recommendations in place before the start of the busy season.”

At last Thursday’s meeting, many residents expressed frustration that the barriers would remain in place for longer, and questioned the wisdom of conducting a traffic study during the slower winter season.

NPV engineers defended the timing of the study during a presentation made via Zoom during the meeting, acknowledging that while there is overall less volume in the winter, they’d still be able to obtain a before-and-after look at the situation.

The engineers pointed out, and the trustees seemed to agree, that increased police presence and clear and visible signs would be necessary in the days and weeks leading up to the implementation of the new turn restrictions.

Police Captain Suzanne Hurteau, who has also been serving as the acting police chief in the village for more than a year, was on the Zoom as well and said that the residents could rely on increased police presence and enforcement. “The police department will be out in full force when the regulations are put into place to get people familiar with the new regulations,” she said. “And will issue tickets to any violators.”

The board seemed, by and large, to be amenable to the recommendations. Trustee Roy Stevenson said he was happy that the recommendations of the study create “a global solution.”

“From the get-go, I was not a fan of the barricade,” he said. “Not because I’m against safety on Somerset, but I’m just against any solution that puts more of a burden on the rest of the village.” He added it would be important to make sure that plans to enforce the new restrictions do not create further traffic slowdowns.

While those preliminary recommendations attempt to solve the problem for that entire area, the residents of the Bishops Pond neighborhood in particular made it clear at the meeting that they objected to the return of the barrier. Resident Anna Burno, speaking over Zoom, said she was chosen to represent the voices of more than 70 Bishops Pond Court residents, and called the barrier “unsightly, costly and discriminatory.”

Those residents demanded to know when the barricade would come down. The board members said it would be removed when new restrictions are in place, but a date is not yet set. A public hearing will take place sometime in March.

Some residents questioned why a public hearing was necessary to remove the barriers when there was never a public hearing on whether to set them up in the first place. There was not a clear or immediate answer from the trustees to that query.

Earlier this week, Arresta said that the presence of those 90-degree turns on Somerset do create a safety issue, a point the residents on that street have been making forcefully in meetings for months. But she was quick to add that the board was dedicated to doing everything it can to alleviate what has become an important issue to all village residents.

She pointed out that the board remains dedicated to working with Southampton Town and Suffolk County to make other changes — like making the light at St. Andrew’s road on the western end of Hill Street flash yellow during high-volume hours — to help traffic flow faster on the main arteries.

“The trustees realize that this is a villagewide problem, and we are sensitive to that,” she said. “We’re really trying to discourage people from cutting through the village, period.”