Ending Gridlock: East End Transportation Futures May, 2005 INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SEEDS Land Use – Transportation Scenario Matrix Maintain Current Land Use Create “Preservation” and “Development” Areas Land Use 1 2 3 4 5 Current Reduce Maximize Maintain Current Maximize Buildout Buildout Buildout Hamlet Center Hamlet Center Reduction (Over Transportation (Do Nothing) by 50% Densities Densities 60%) 1 Current Improvements Only 2 Transportation Management Strategies 3 Transit Focused Investment 4 Roadway Focused Investment 5 Large Scale Investment EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On March 12, 2004, the Institute for Sustainable Development hosted Ending Gridlock, a conference at Southampton College. This report, which documents the major problems facing transportation and land use on the East End of Long Island, makes the following observations and recommendations. Observations: 1. While the Hampton’s are well known for its summer gridlock, traffic congestion now extends to both the North and South Forks and persists throughout the year. 2. Planning for the East End must address certain basic facts and widely shared goals: a. Land area is quite limited; b. There is widespread desire to preserve the existing farms and rural landscape; c. Local quality of life depends upon this rural character and charm; d. There is a strong commitment to general environmental preservation; e. There is a booming second home economy and home building industry which is attracted to, but also erodes, the area’s rural landscape; f. There is a significant shortage of affordable housing for the local workforce; g. Pervasive congestion exists on all primary roads; the road networks are over capacity during key travel periods much of the year (e.g., rush hours on the South Fork and summer weekends). h. Public transit is minimal, unreliable, and poorly coordinated. 3. Transportation and land use are interdependent; there is no way to separate the two. The transportation system is used by the people who live, work, and visit here and their transit needs are defined by land use patterns. Part of the problem with the last couple of decades is that we have been separating land use from transportation decision-making. 4. Transportation planners and engineers have traditionally responded to increasing congestion by widening roads and constructing bypasses around congested villages. This kind of road expansion, however, only encourages additional auto dependency, paving over valuable land and increasing suburban sprawl. Within a short period of time, congestion problems inevitably return, with the increased number of cars adding additional congestion burdens to secondary roads. 5. Regional mobility will only be improved if local and regional governments commit to developing well designed multi-modal transit systems that encompass walking and bicycle paths, bus, mini- bus and jitney services, rail and light-rail options, and water taxis and passenger ferries. For the foreseeable future, congestion will continue to be with us; we cannot “solve” congestion. We should provide a wider range of alternative transit modes and offer transit services on a more frequent basis so that travelers have more choice. i Based upon the conference, the Institute offers the following recommendations: 1. The East End needs a rural transit network, consisting of regularly scheduled shuttle trains, buses and ferries, which can move five distinct user groups: year round residents, second homeowners, workers, tourists and freight...more effectively and affordably. Each user category should have services specifically designed for its unique needs, but on an integrated basis. 2. The most important improvement the region can make is to expand usage of the Long Island Railroad corridors, which are poorly utilized. The existing LIRR cars are designed for travel to and from Manhattan. The corridor could function more efficiently as a regional light rail or trolley service with more frequent stops. 3. Careful study should be given to the proposal to create a regional transit authority. 4. Land use policies on the East End continue to encourage large lot sprawl. These policies are harmful and must be reversed in favor of “smart growth” design principles that favor transit- oriented development, with higher density in hamlets and villages while preserving farm land and “open space.” 5. The S92 bus service is inadequate and The most important poorly coordinated with ferry and rail service. During the summer months, local improvement the region can buses should run more frequently and make is to expand usage of the schedules should be better publicized. Long Island Railroad corridors, Transit agencies and local elected officials must work more together to address these which are poorly utilized. service gaps. 6. A regional Internet transit website should be established to provide information on: highway congestion and optimal travel times; construction schedules; and scheduling information on bus, rail, and ferry services. 7.. Bike lanes should continue to be expanded into a regionally coherent network. Suffolk County should establish maps and other resources to promote usage of this system. 8. Since opposition to ferry services seems to preclude their expansion on the South Fork at this time, efforts should be undertaken to establish passenger service to and from Riverhead and Greenport to Sag Harbor. Ferry service from Connecticut to Riverhead or west of Riverhead would alleviate some summer congestion on the North Fork. This option merits further attention and should allow for bus and/or rail interconnects. 9. Better management of the existing road networks can and should be obtained by: • Staggering workplace hours; • Designating selected current secondary roadways as HOV/bus lanes – but without the addition of any significant road-widening; • Promoting carpool services; • Creating toll roads, with funds used to subsidize bus, van, and trolley services. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . i SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 SECTION 2: LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS. 3 Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. East End Mayors and Supervisors Assoc., Chair Patrick A. Heaney SECTION 3: THE SEEDS PROCESS . 8 Peter Leibowitz Bernie Kalus James Kahng SECTION 4: REGIONAL VIEWS ON SEEDS . 16 Gerry Bogacz Wayne Ugolik Mitch Pally Lisa Tyson SECTION 5: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: CONGRESSMAN TIMOTHY BISHOP . 24 SECTION 6: LOCAL VOICES . 26 Robert DeLuca Hank de Cillia Scott Carlin and David Sprintzen SECTION 7: RECOMMENDATIONS . 34 SECTION 8: APPENDICES . 36 Related Internet Links Acronyms Data Tables About the Institute and Acknowledgements SEEDS Land Use – Transportation Scenario Matrix iii This report is printed on recycled paper. Section 1: 1 INTRODUCTION On March 12, 2004, the Institute for Sustainable Development hosted Ending Gridlock, a conference at Southampton College. This report documents the major themes of the conference and makes a series of policy recommendations. This Introduction, the concluding Recommendations, and the Executive Summary highlight the Institute’s evaluation of East End Transportation issues. The other conference speakers did not contribute to these sections of the report. While the Hampton’s are well known for its summer gridlock, traffic congestion now extends to both forks well beyond the summer months. But, if the problem is clear, the solutions are not. Serious disagreements exist over the utility of expanding roads and ferry, bus, and rail services. Can these conflicts be resolved productively? Planning for the East End must address certain basic facts and widely shared goals: • Land area is quite limited; • There is widespread desire to preserve the existing farms and rural landscape; • Local quality of life depends upon this rural character and charm; • There is a strong commitment to general environmental preservation; • There is a booming second home economy and Yet investments in new home building industry which is attracted to, but also erodes, the area’s rural landscape; transportation infrastructure • There is a significant shortage of affordable generally take decades to housing for the local workforce; move from initial design • Pervasive congestion exists on all primary roads, the road networks are over capacity during key to completion … travel periods much of the year (e.g., rush hours on the South Fork and summer weekends). • Public transit is minimal, unreliable and poorly coordinated. These are the realities that transportation planning must address. Yet investments in new transportation infrastructure generally take decades to move from initial design to completion, and the East End doesn’t have that luxury of time. Inadequate infrastructure costs millions of dollars in lost economic productivity, added stress, wasted energy consumption and its associated health and environmental impacts. Transportation planners and engineers have traditionally responded to increasing congestion by widening roads and constructing bypasses around congested villages. This kind of road expansion, however, only encourages additional auto dependency, while paving over valuable land, and increasing wasteful and ugly suburban sprawl. Within a short period of time, congestion problems inevitably return, with the increased number of cars adding additional congestion burdens to secondary roads. 1 Cover image reprinted from http://www.standardreporting.net/arttime/gallery/art-lg/TRAFFIC.GIF 1 Road expansion increases the region’s reliance on cars, adding