7. Highways

Highway Network

The Town of Southampton has an extensive network of roadways consisting of State, County, Town and Village roads. The “most important roadways”4 are operated and maintained as follows:

New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT)

• Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27) – Connects Southampton/Brookhaven Town Line to County Road 39.

• Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) – Connects North Road (County Road 39) to Southampton/East Hampton Town Line.

• Flanders Road (NYS Route 24) – Connects Riverside Traffic Circle to Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) in Hampton Bays.

• Montauk Highway (NYS Route 900W) – Connects Hampton Bays/Shinnecock Hills (Knoll Road) to the Southampton Village Line.

• Hampton Street/Division Street/Ferry Road (NYS Route 114) – Connects Southampton/East Hampton Town Line to the South Ferry Terminal.

Suffolk County Department of Public Works (SCDPW)

• Old Riverhead Road (C.R. 31) – Connects Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) in Westhampton Beach to Quogue Riverhead Road (C.R. 104).

• Ponquogue Avenue Bridge (C.R. 32) – Connects Dune Road in Hampton Bays to Ponquogue Avenue 800 feet north of the Ponquogue Bridge.

• North Sea Road (C.R. 38) – Connects North Sea Road (C.R. 39) to 500 feet north of Milestone Brook Road.

• North Road (C.R. 39) – Connects Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) in Hampton Bays/Shinnecock Hills to Flying Point Road (C.R. 39A) at North Sea Road (C.R. 38).

• Flying Point Road (C.R. 39A) – Connects North Road (C.R. 39) at North Sea Road (C.R. 38) to Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) in Water Mill.

4 For purposes of this section, the term “most important roadways” refers to roads with the highest traffic volumes and connections to other roadways.

B-46 • Old North Highway (C.R. 39B) – Connects North Road (C.R. 39) in Hampton Bays to North Road (C.R. 39) in Shinnecock Hills.

• East Moriches-Riverhead Road (C.R. 51) – Connects Southampton/Brookhaven Town Line to Nugent Drive/Center Drive (C.R. 94).

• Sandy Hollow Road (C.R. 52) – Connects North Road (C.R. 39) to North Sea Road (C.R. 38) Tuckahoe.

• Long Beach Road/Short Beach Road (C.R. 60) – Connects Noyack Road to Ferry Road (NYS Route 114) in North Haven.

• Newtown Road (C.R. 62) – Connects Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) in Hampton Bays to Peconic Bay Breakwater.

• Old East Moriches-Riverhead Road (C.R. 63) – Connects East Moriches-Riverhead Road (C.R. 51) in North Hampton to the Riverhead Traffic Circle and thence north to the Riverhead Town Line and Main Street (NYS Route 25).

• Mill Road (C.R. 71) – Connects Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) to Mill Road at Oneck Lane in Westhampton.

• Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike (C.R. 79) – Connects Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) in Bridgehampton to Brickiln Road in Sag Harbor.

• Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) – Connects Southampton/Brookhaven Town Line to Montauk Highway (NYS Route 900W) at Knoll Road in Shinnecock Hills.

• Dune Road (C.R. 89) – Connects 300 feet east of Jessup Lane in Westhampton Beach to Dune Road at Village owned Lashley Beach.

• Nugent Drive/Center Drive (C.R. 94) – Connects LIE South Service Road to the Riverside Traffic Circle.

• Center Spur Drive (C.R. 94A) – Connects Center Drive (C.R. 94) to Southampton Riverhead Town Line.

• Quogue-Riverhead Road (C.R. 104) – Connects Riverside Traffic Circle to Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) in Quogue (also connects to Old Riverhead Road (C.R. 31) north of Westhampton Beach; Lewis Road in East Quogue and Riverleigh Road in Riverside.

• Cross River Drive (C.R. 105) – Connects Quogue-Riverhead Road (C.R. 104) to the Riverhead/Southampton Town Line.

B-47 The remainder of the highway network is comprised of Town, Village and private roadways. Of particular significance under Town and Village jurisdictions are:

Town/Village Highway Departments

• Old Country Road (Town) – Connects Southampton/Brookhaven Town Line in Eastport to Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) in Westhampton.

• Noyack Road/Brickiln Road (Town) – Connects North Sea Road (C.R. 38) in North Sea to Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike (C.R. 79) in Sag Harbor.

• Hill Street/Wind Mill Lane/Hampton Road (Village of Southampton) – Connects Montauk Highway (NYS Route 900W) in Shinnecock Hills to Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) in Water Mill.

• Scuttle Hole Road (Town) – Connects Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) in Water Mill to Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike (C.R. 79) in Bridgehampton.

• Dune Road (Town and Village of Quogue and Westhampton Beach) – Connects Dune Road (C.R. 89) at Jessup Lane in Westhampton Beach to the Shinnecock Inlet.

• Dune Road (Town and Village of Westhampton Beach and Westhampton Dunes) – Connects Dune Road (C.R. 89) at the Village owned Lashley Beach in Westhampton Beach to Moriches Inlet.

• Oak Street/Jessup Lane (Village of Westhampton Beach) – Connects Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) to Dune Road (C.R. 89) in Westhampton Beach.

• Ponquoque Ave/Shinnecock Road/Foster Ave/Lighthouse Road (Town) – Connects Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) in Hampton Bays to the Ponquogue Bridge (C.R. 32).

With the exception of Sunrise Highway, which is a four lane limited access expressway, and C.R. 51, 63, 94 and 105, which are four lane arterial highways serving the northwestern part of the Town, all of the roadways are two lane facilities with additional turning lanes at intersections, except County Road 39 which has 3 lane and 4 lane segments.

Figure B-13 entitled “Town of Southampton Highway Network” indicates the important highways within the Town. State and County highways are indicated. Individual Villages maintain all roadways within the Village boundaries with the exception of some segments of the State or County facilities. All other roadways, other than those not dedicated to the Town Highway System, are maintained by the Town.

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FIGURE B-13 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON HIGHWAY SYSTEM High Volume Traffic Corridors

Traffic volumes found on the various roadways within the Town of Southampton is presented in Figure B-14. In Figure B-14 each highway or highway segment is noted with an Average Daily Traffic Volume or the average number of vehicles using this portion of the roadway in one 24-hour period during a typical summer weekday. In all cases the volume data was collected during the summer months. The data is from various jurisdictions including the New York State Department of Transportation, the Suffolk County Department of Public Works, and counts taken for this Study by Dunn Engineering Associates. All counts from earlier years were adjusted to the summer of 2003.

The most important highway corridor within the Town of Southampton (in terms of traffic volumes) is the one formed by Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27)/North Road (C.R. 39)/and Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27). At the western end of the corridor, Sunrise Highway accommodates 38,158 vehicles per day down to 29,767 vehicles per day at its terminus at County Road 39. Sunrise Highway accommodates this volume of traffic with good levels of service and a relatively low accident rate because of its expressway type design and limited access features. C.R. 39 accommodates 33,050 vehicles per day at its western connection to Sunrise Highway gradually decreasing to 26,712 vehicles before ending at Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) and Flying Point Road. Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) accommodates 33,252 vehicles per day east of C.R. 39 gradually decreasing to 32,053 vehicles per day at the East Hampton Town Line.

The Sunrise Highway/C.R. 39/NYS Route 27 corridor is the backbone of the “Highway Network” in Southampton Town facilitating east/west traffic flow through the entire length of the Town. West of the Southampton Village, the corridor is used primarily for “long distance thru-trips”. Montauk Highway, which parallels it to the south, services “shorter distance inter-hamlet trips.” East of Southampton Village, C.R. 39 merges with Montauk Highway (and Hampton Road), which then Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) services both long and short distance trips to points east.

Based on studies conducted during the County Road 39 Corridor Study as much as 25% of the traffic utilizing the NYS Route 27/C.R. 39 Corridor beginning at the Shinnecock Canal is destined to the Town of East Hampton, while an additional 17% is destined for Bridgehampton and Water Mill.

Therefore, over 40% of the motorists using the Sunrise

Highway/C.R. 39 Corridor, beginning with the Shinnecock

Canal, have a destination east of Southampton Village.

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FIGURE B-14 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC VOLUMES SUMMER 2003 The Sunrise Highway portion of this corridor from the Brookhaven Town Line to County Road 39 is congestion free. This portion of the highway is a four-lane transportation facility with access limited to interchanges designed to accommodate substantial traffic flow. From the termination of Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27) at C.R. 39 along North Road (C.R. 39) and along Montauk Highway from C.R. 39 to the East Hampton town line this corridor experiences severe congestion problems, and not only in a seasonal basis.

Flanders Road (NYS Route 24) is the next most important highway corridor by volume accommodating up to 28,000 vehicles a day south of County Road 105 and 22,000 vehicles per day closer to Sunrise Highway. Between County Road 105 and the Riverside Traffic Circle, Route 24 accommodates almost 19,000 vehicles a day. Route 24 is currently being reconstructed by the New York State Department of Transportation and other than at the intersections of Route 24 at C.R. 105, and Route 24 at Montauk Highway and at the Riverside Traffic Circle, there appears to be no substantial congestion or capacity deficiencies. At the intersection of Route 24 at C.R. 105, the capacity deficiencies are being resolved by the creation of a double left turn lane westbound on C.R. 105.

There are no other plans for modification to Route 24, although recommendations to improve the intersection of Montauk Highway at Route 24 are contained in the Hampton Bays Hamlet Study, which is discussed in Section V.D. of the “Update to the Town of Southampton Comprehensive Plan, 2004”.

Another important corridor is Montauk Highway (C.R. 80 and NYS Route 900W), Hill Street/Windmill Lane and Hampton Road. This corridor serves the inner hamlet trips along heavily populated south shore communities in the western and central part of the Town. For the most part, volumes on Montauk Highway west of New York Route 24 (Flanders Road) range from a high of 13,356 vehicles per day to a low of 9,783 vehicles per day between Quogue and Hampton Bays. This segment of the corridor experiences little congestion although the intersection of Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) at Westhampton-Old Riverhead Road (C.R. 31) is subject to moderate congestion during peak summer conditions.

Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) between Route 24 and Ponquogue Avenue carries 18,762 vehicles per day while between Ponquogue Avenue and the Shinnecock Canal, it carries 18,490 vehicles per day increasing to 20,103 crossing the canal. Montauk Highway in this area is congested during typical peak conditions with the intersections of Montauk Highway at Route 24, Springville Road and Ponquogue Avenue exhibiting congested conditions.

East of the Shinnecock Canal volumes on Montauk Highway drops somewhat to 13,223 vehicles per day just east of the canal rising to 15,617 approaching Southampton Village. Daily 11,823 vehicles exit and enter Southampton Village via Hampton Road as the Montauk Highway Corridor merges with the Route 27/County Road 39 Corridor which connects hamlet centers to the east, as well as, providing for the most direct east/west

B-52 travel through the remainder of Southampton Town and East Hampton Town. The Hill Street/Windmill Lane/Hampton Road segment of the Montauk Highway Corridor in the central business district of Southampton Village is congested.

Another important corridor is Sandy Hollow Road (C.R. 52)/North Sea Road (C.R. 38)/Noyac Road. Both Sandy Hollow Road (C.R. 52) and North Sea Road (C.R. 38) on the south and west end of the corridor are utilized by 8,611 vehicles per day and 9,374 vehicles per day respectively to the flow of traffic to the north and east reaching as high as 14,151 vehicles per day on Noyac Road just east of North Sea Road. The daily traffic volumes decrease approaching Sag Harbor reaching 11,177 vehicles per day west of Long Beach Road. Long Beach Road carries 10,132 vehicles per day between Noyac Road and NYS Route 114 in North Haven. While not experiencing congestion this important corridor is receiving increasing traffic volumes as congestion increases on Montauk Highway east of Southampton Village.

County Road 31 (Westhampton-Old Riverhead Road)/County Road 104 (Quogue Riverhead Road) – are north/south County roadways connecting the south shore communities of Westhampton, Westhampton Beach, Quogue, East Quogue and Tiana with Riverhead. In turn, the roadways also connect these communities with Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27) - the major east/west roadway running through the Town of Southampton. Volumes on C.R. 31 and C.R. 104 range between 5,341 vehicles per day on the segment of C.R. 104 north of Route 27 to 14,083 vehicles per day on C.R. 31 south of Route 27. There are no notable congestion points on these roadways except the intersection of Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) at Westhampton-Old Riverhead Road (C.R. 31) and at the terminus of Quogue Riverhead Road–Riverleigh Avenue (C.R. 104) at the Riverside Traffic Circle.

Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike (C.R. 79) – is a north/south County roadway connecting Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) in the hamlet of Bridgehampton with the Village of Sag Harbor. It serves primarily as a hamlet-to-hamlet connecter. South of Scuttle Hole Road, the Turnpike (C.R. 79) carries 5,936 vehicles per day, while north of Scuttle Hole Road, it carries 8,162 vehicles per day. The volumes accommodated do not produce congestion although the intersection of the Turnpike (C.R. 79) with Montauk Highway is congested mostly due to the unusually heavy traffic flow on Montauk Highway. The continuation of the Turnpike (C.R. 79) into Sag Harbor’s Main Street is congested, as are many downtown areas during peak hours of traffic.

Secondary Corridors

Old Country Road begins at Eastport Manor Road (C.R. 55) in the Town of Brookhaven and ends at the intersection of Old Country Road at Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) and Mill Road (C.R. 71) in Westhampton. This roadway parallels Montauk Highway and serves as a “bypass” of Montauk Highway and the hamlet centers of Eastport and Speonk. Old Country Road presently carries 6,090 vehicles per day, slightly less than half of the volume evidenced on Montauk Highway. There are no evident congestion points along this roadway, other than at its intersection with Montauk Highway during morning hours on weekdays.

B-53 Lewis Road/Old Country Road beginning at Quogue Riverhead Road (C.R. 104) and ending at Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) provides the most direct path for residents of East Quogue, including (West Tiana and Pine Neck) to C.R. 104 and connections to Sunrise Highway and Riverhead. No volumes are currently available for this corridor, but anticipated volumes are less than 5,000 vehicles per day.

David Whites Lane/Seven Ponds Road/Lower Seven Ponds Road/Head of Pond Road/Scuttle Hole Road beginning at North Road (C.R. 39) and ending at Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike (C.R. 79) provides a “bypass” of the hamlet centers of Water Mill and Bridgehampton and roadway connections to destinations north of those hamlets in the Town of Southampton. In particular, it is an alternate means of reaching Sag Harbor from the outskirts of Southampton Village. Traffic volumes on this corridor range from a low of 6,182 vehicles per day at the east end of the corridor to a high of 8,450 in the middle of the corridor. There are several intersections that experience congestion during peak summer conditions including: a) Lower Seven Ponds Road at Head of Pond Road b) Head of Pond Road at Deerfield Road c) Head of Pond Road at Scuttle Hole Road d) Scuttle Hole Road at Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike (C.R. 79)

Highway Speed Limits

The roadways within the Town of Southampton are covered by a series of area-wide 30 mile per hour speed limits that except certain designated highways within the town that currently provide either 55 mph speed limits or other set speed limits. Thus, unless designated and marked at other then 30 miles per hour all roadways within the Town have 30 miles per hour speed limits.

Figure B-15, “Highway Speed Limits” shows the speed limits on highways within the Town of Southampton designated at other than 30 miles per hour. All other roadways within the Town are designated at 30 miles per hour. Speed limits within Villages may be different although all villages within the Town also have 30 miles per hour area wide speed limits. Sag Harbor, Southampton, and Westhampton Beach have several roads designated as 25 miles per hour.

The New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law prohibits the use of area wide speed limits lower than 30 miles per hour and linear (a specific length of a certain roadway) speed limits lower than 25 miles per hour. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has been responsible for setting the speed limits on all State, County, and Town roadway within the Town but not within the Villages unless on a State highway. Roadways where the State has set linear speed limits were subject to speed studies.

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D 1 FIGURE B-15 TOWN ARTERIAL ROADWAY OL D CO × UNTR Westhampton R.R. Station 35 MPH Y RD 0 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON CR8 40 MPH Speonk R.R. Station SPEED LIMITS CR80 × 45 MPH NOTE: ALL OTHER ROADWAYS ARE COVERED 55 MPH BY AREA WIDE 30 MPH LIMITS. VILLAGE ARTERIAL ROADWAY 25 MPH These studies require several hundred spot radar speed shots at several locations along each roadway. The speed limit for the roadway is generally then set at the 85th percentile reading for all speed readings taken. Thus, the speed limit for the roadway is set such that 85 percent of motorists using the roadway drive the roadway at that speed or less, while 15 percent drive the roadway at higher speeds. The theory is that most people drive the road properly and at a speed they are comfortable with. Setting the speed lower generally means that a large portion of the public will violate the speed limit and enforcement agencies will have a difficult time providing enough enforcement to prevent drivers from violating the law.

State law permits Towns with a population in excess of 55,000 persons to set their own speed limits (except for a State highway) provided that the Town utilizes appropriate traffic engineering analysis.

Highway High Accident Locations

The Town of Southampton Police Department provided accident data for a one year, nine and a half month period (1/1/02 to 10/15/03). Utilizing the data provided it was possible to rank the fifteen highest accident locations within the Town for that time period. Table B-15, High Accident locations provides a listing of the fifteen highest accident locations within the Town. Figure B-16 shows the location of these accidents.

Total No. of Vehicle Rank Location Accident Hamlet/Jur Killed Injured s s 1 CR 39/Tuckahoe Road 46 Southampton -- 26 94 2 Flanders Road/CR 105 43 Riverside 1 31 90 Montauk Hwy West / 3 36 Hampton Bays -- 19 74 Flanders Road 4 CR 39/Tuckahoe La 35 Southampton -- 15 71 Montauk Hwy West / 5 28 Hampton Bays -- 11 42 Springville Road 6 CR 39 / Magee Street 28 Southampton -- 15 57 Montauk Hwy West/ 7 28 Hampton Bays -- 5 42 Ponquogue Ave. 8 CR 39A / David Whites Lane 27 Southampton -- 7 53 9 SR 27 Eastbound / Flanders Rd. 25 Hampton Bays -- 9 41 10 CR 104 / CR 31 22 Flanders 1 21 36 Montauk Hwy / Snake Hollow 11 21 Bridgehampton 1 13 46 Road Montauk Hwy / Sag Harbor 12 16 Bridgehampton -- 3 28 Turnpike 13 CR 39 / Hill Station Road 16 Southampton -- 1 32 14 Montauk Hwy / Sagg Road 15 Sagaponack -- 5 39 15 CR 39 @ Shrubland Road 15 Shinnecock -- 13 35

Table B-15 15 Highest Accident Locations

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C 0.5 01234 Not surprising the fifteen highest accident locations are located on State and County roadways carrying the highest traffic volumes within the Town. Six of the locations are located on County Road 39 where substantial capacity problems have been identified and the County has recently completed a preliminary study recommending both capacity and safety improvements. The implementation of the proposed improvements should result in lowering the accident experience at these locations. The second highest accident location is Flanders Road (NYS Route 24) at C.R. 105 with a total of 43 accidents and one fatality in less than two years. A seven-mile stretch of NYS Route 24 is currently being reconstructed by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). It is expected that this reconstruction will also lead to a reduced accident experience. The NYSDOT has also resurfaced and improved Montauk Highway at Sagg Main Street within the past year and those improvements should also lead to a reduced accident experience at that location. There are no other plans or studies focused on the other locations and further evaluation of those locations should be undertaken.

It is noteworthy that three of the high accident locations are clustered along Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) between Flanders Road (NYS Route 24) and Ponquogue Avenue. In addition, a fourth high accident location on Flanders Road (NYS Route 24) at the eastbound exit from Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27) is largely due to congestion spilling back from the Flanders Road intersection with Montauk Highway. Improvements discussed in section IIG “Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays” of this report would be helpful in resolving the accident problems, although an in-depth safety analysis of this central community gateway of Southampton Town is warranted to further refine remedial action.

Current and Future Improvements

The County is also currently reconstructing the intersection of Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) at Tiana Road/Bellows Pond Road in Hampton Bays to improve safety, and add a traffic signal. The Suffolk County Department of Public Works (SCDPW) is also proposing to reconstruct the County Road 39 Bridge over St. Andrews Road in the near future and is considering a major project to improve County Road 39 from Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27) to Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27). The New York State Department of Transportation is currently completing a reconstruction of NYS Route 24. There are no other projects currently on the State’s Five Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) within the Town of Southampton. Other than the County Road 39 project noted above, the County has no other planned projects within Southampton Town at this time.

Proposed County Road 39 Improvements

The Suffolk County Department of Public Works recently completed an initial study of potential transportation improvements for the County Road 39 Corridor. The results of this study include recommendations to widen C.R. 39 to provide two lanes in each direction from Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27) to Montauk Highway, (NYS Route 27).

B-58 A full discussion of the proposed improvement is included in Section IVA of “The Update to the Comprehensive Plan, 2004”.

Highway Deficiencies

Eastern Southampton Town

The area of Southampton Town east of the Shinnecock Canal has long been noted for the traffic congestion evidenced on County Road 39 and Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) through Water Mill and Bridgehampton. Daily traffic volumes along this corridor ranged from 30,000 to 36,000 vehicles per day. Peak hour volumes can range over 1,000 vehicles per hour in each direction for ten hours of the day during the summer months.

The thru capacity of Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) in the Water Mill area appears to be in the vicinity of 1,100 to 1,200 vehicles per hour per direction and operates with those volumes from 7:00 A.M. in the morning to 6:00 P.M. at night on weekdays during the summer months. As Montauk Highway and County Road 39 operate at capacity during many hours of the day during the summer, traffic not being accommodated on these roadways is spilling onto other roadways. North Sea Road/Noyack Road experiences Average Daily Traffic (ADT) counts of over 14,000 vehicles per day and Head of Pond Road/Scuttle Hole Road experiences volumes of over 8,900 vehicles per day. Both roads are becoming increasingly popular alternatives to Montauk Highway.

At the terminus of Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27), where two expressway lanes transition into one arterial highway lane, there are major capacity problems that spill out onto the surrounding roadways. During the Weekday A.M. Peak hour approximately 1700 vehicles cross the Shinnecock Canal on NYS Route 27, but only 942 vehicles enter directly onto eastbound C.R. 39 at Hill Station Road. Approximately 750 vehicles exit at the NYS Route 27 ramp to North Road (C.R. 39A). Half of these vehicles divert to Montauk Highway and half follow North Road to Peconic Road to Long View Drive to Hill Station Road and become northbound right turning traffic at the Hill Station Road/C.R. 39 intersection. Other traffic returns to eastbound C.R. 39 via the North Road (C.R. 39A) connector to eastbound C.R. 39 and still other traffic uses local residential streets, which parallel C.R. 39 and re-enters at Greenfield Road or even Saint Andrews Road. Despite efforts by Southampton Town to officially restrict left turns onto Shrubland Road for eastbound motorists during the weekday A.M. peak hour traffic, over 200 vehicles have been observed diverting onto eastbound Shrubland Road with many reentering at southbound Magee Street in contravention of local law.

The cut-through routes that are utilized, as observed, by the peak weekday A.M. eastbound traffic is presented graphically in Figure B-17. Were conditions on C.R. 39 improved for eastbound traffic, these diverting vehicles using local residential streets would likely stay on to C.R. 39 as the shortest and quickest path to their destination.

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In addition to the diversion of traffic that occurs east of the Shinnecock Canal due to the capacity restriction at the NYS Route 27 terminus, there is evidence that traffic also departs NYS Route 27 (Sunrise Highway) at NYS Route 24 (Flanders Road) during the A.M. peak hours and heads eastbound on Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) through Hampton Bays. Other traffic from originating north of Hampton Bays heading southbound on NYS Route 24 continues south past the Sunrise Highway interchange to use Montauk Highway through Hampton Bays rather than using Sunrise Highway and C.R. 39 due to traffic congestion.

Sunrise Highway, (NYS Route 27) is a two-lane expressway facility having a theoretical capacity of approximately 4,000 vehicles per hour per direction. The roadway and its interchanges generally operate with excellent levels of service and very low accident rates. County Road 39, which carries the traffic continuing to the east of Sunrise Highway, has an observed capacity of approximately 1,350 vehicles eastbound in a single lane. Single lane westbound segments of County Road 39 have a similar capacity while the two lane westbound segments have somewhat less than twice the single lane capacity. Observations in the Water Mill area of Montauk Highway indicate that the east and westbound capacity of Montauk Highway is approximately 1,100 to 1,200 vehicles per hour. Volumes of traffic in each direction on Montauk Highway are at capacity up to ten hours a day during summer months.

It is the lack of through highway capacity between the terminus of Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27) and Montauk Highway (NYS Route 27) at the East Hampton Town Line and beyond that is the principal reason for congestion in eastern part of Southampton Town. The lack of capacity in this corridor has created spillover onto Montauk• Highway between Route 24 (Flanders Road) and Flying Point Road through the communities of Hampton Bays and Southampton. It has caused increasing use of Town roadways in the communities in Water Mill, North Sea, Noyac and Bridgehampton that offer parallel but circuitous alternatives. These roadways include:

• Noyack Road • Seven Ponds Road • Lower Seven Ponds Road • Head of Pond Road • • Scuttle Hole Road

B-61 Spot Locations – Western Southampton Town

In addition to the congestion and dislocation of traffic caused in the eastern portion of Southampton Town there are several significant areas of localized congestion. While not on a scale with the problems occurring in the eastern portions of the Town they have considerable local significance. These locations are:

The “Riverhead Traffic Circle” in Riverside

The traffic circle where Route 24, C.R. 104, C.R. 63, Center Drive (C.R. 94) and Peconic Avenue converge is a critical junction point in the Town of Southampton. Congestion is experienced most days of the week on alternating legs of the circle. There are no real alternates to the use of the circle. Riverhead Town is home to many employees who work in the Town of Southampton. The County Center is located in Riverside and Riverhead Town is the County Seat with many County Offices including County Courts and other offices providing municipal services. Thus, Riverhead acts as a major employment center for the surrounding area. Riverhead Town is also a major shopping destination for residents of Southampton and the East End and other visitors from points up island in western Suffolk and Nassau County. Direct access to the Long Island Expressway is available via Center Drive (C.R. 94) and a coastal evacuation route for the Town of Southampton passes through the Riverside traffic circle.

It should be noted that no improvements have been proposed for the traffic circle despite continuing congestion over past years. The New York State Department of Transportation is completing substantial improvements to Flanders Road (NYS Route 24), which terminates at the traffic circle; but this multi-million dollar project does not address on-going congestion at the circle.

In Chapter VD, “Hamlet Center Strategies” section at the “Update to the Southampton Town Comprehensive Plan, 2004”, provides additional recommendations.

Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays

Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) from East Tiana Road to the LIRR overpass experiences recurrent congestion on weekends. Of particular concern is the area between Flanders Road (NYS Route 24) and Ponquogue Avenue. The intersection of NYS Route 24 and Montauk Highway experiences congestion during A.M. and P.M. peak hours and on Saturdays. Congestion is most often evidenced by the queue southbound on NYS Route 24, which frequently extends north of the Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27) eastbound exit ramp to NYS Route 24, making it difficult and unsafe to exit the ramp and line-up for the southbound to eastbound left turn onto Montauk Highway.

At Springville Road at Montauk Highway and at Ponquogue Avenue at Montauk Highway, narrow lane widths and sharp curb returns make truck turns difficult at these signalized intersections. Parking and side friction through the downtown area reduce capacity and create congestion during peak use in the summer.

B-62 This segment of Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) between Flanders Road (NYS Route 24) and Ponquogue Avenue also contains three of the twenty identified high accident locations within the Town of Southampton. An additional high accident location at the intersection of Flanders Road (NYS Route 24) with the eastbound exit ramp of Sunrise Highway (NYS Route 27) results from the queuing of southbound traffic on NYS Route 24 from the traffic signal at Montauk Highway, as noted in a prior section of this report which reviewed high accident locations.

As noted previously, there is no doubt that additional traffic is diverted to Montauk Highway eastbound in Hampton Bays during the weekday A.M. peak hours of traffic and possibly on Saturdays to avoid the C.R. 39 bottleneck. Relief of the congestion problem on C.R. 39 should lead to reduced eastbound volumes through Hampton Bays on Montauk Highway during those “morning rush” hours. A reduction in traffic volumes during other hours is also possible.

The Suffolk County Department of Public Works recently completed reconstructing the intersection of Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) at East Tiana Road/Bellows Pond Road. The reconstruction was designed to realign the East Tiana Road approach to Montauk Highway to align it with the Bellows Pond Road approach. The reconfigured intersection will then be signalized. Substantial drainage improvements were also included in the project.

Flanders Road (NYS Route 24) at County Road 105, Flanders

Congestion occurs frequently at this intersection during weekday periods and on weekends. Congestion is particularly evidenced by the queue of westbound left turn vehicles wishing to turn southbound onto NYS Route 24. This queue of vehicles often backs out of the left turn storage lane into the westbound through lanes creating unexpected stopped vehicles in the through lanes and a hazardous condition.

As noted previously, the NYSDOT is currently reconstructing the NYS Route 24 and intersection and will provide dual left turn lanes and ample left turn storage on westbound C.R. 105. In addition, the northbound to eastbound right turn lane is being extended so that the queue of northbound vehicles on a red signal will not back up to a point where right turning vehicles cannot gain access to the right turn lane. These improvements are expected to eliminate the capacity problems at the intersection and to greatly increase public safety.

Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) at Old Riverhead Road (C.R. 31), Westhampton Beach

This intersection experiences low to moderate levels of congestion throughout the summer months. In addition, because of narrow lane widths and small curb returns it is difficult for trucks and buses that use the intersection to complete left and right turns. Minor intersection widenings and the installation of southbound and westbound right turn lanes with adequate curb radii would alleviate problems at this intersection.

B-63 Montauk Highway (C.R. 80) at South Country Road and Dock Road, Speonk

The draft Area Study for Eastport-Speonk-Remsenburg-Westhampton identifies this intersection for improvement in the form of a gateway roundabout, avoiding traffic signalization, facilitating traffic movements onto the Montauk Highway, calming traffic speeds of motorists entering the Speonk Hamlet Center or Eastport Hamlet Center as the case may be.

Speonk-Riverhead Road, Speonk

The draft Area Study for Eastport-Speonk-Remsenburg-Westhampton recommends that the interchange with Sunrise Highway be opened and that the Sunrise Highway service road be extended from the Eastport exit to this proposed new Speonk exit. (See “Hamlet Center Strategies” section in Chapter VII for further discussion and an exhibit.)

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