To Arms! Two Arms!

The East Hampton Village Board has decided to arm itself with a new weapon against the popular summer pastime it calls "musical cars."

The armaments - actually two arms - are mechanical barriers, known officially as "drop arms," that will face drivers arriving at the Reutershan parking lot. The arms will rise after drivers extract tickets stamped with their time of entry from a dispenser.

Traffic control officers will be able to check the time on the tickets, which are to be placed inside the windshield. If cars are removed within two hours, parking will continue to be free. If drivers dally, they will be fined.

By Spring

Chances are the new appendages of police enforcement will be installed at the lot's Main Street and Newtown Lane entrances by spring.

The public will have nothing to say about it. No public hearing is necessary, Linda Riley, the village attorney, told the Village Board at last Thursday's work session, because the change is in accordance with existing provisions of the code.

Only a public notice of the equipment bid - expected to come in at about $40,000 - will be necessary. That will be taken care of at the next regular board meeting, Friday, Feb. 20.

Other Lots Too?

The board has the endorsement of the East Hampton Village Preservation Society and the East Hampton Business Alliance, both of which sent representatives to the meeting, and of the East Hampton Village Police Chief.

In fact, said Chief Glen Stonemetz, if the experiment goes well, arms may in time be installed at the Schenck and Plaza Sports lots, too.

"Gentlemen, this is a major step," declared Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., "and apropos of America's most beautiful village."

A Deterrent

Decrying the seemingly endless circling of would-be parkers, especially on rainy summer days, one board member, Elbert Edwards, a member of the committee that recommended the devices, said, "It's come to the point where we need a deterrent."

"At 9 a.m. on rainy days, the lot is already filled," agreed Chief Stonemetz.

As an alternative, the committee briefly considered installing more signs, in at least two languages, reminding drivers of the two-hour limit.

Village officials have been taking steps to alleviate car congestion in the commercial area, among them launching a shuttle bus last summer with the hope that merchants, their employees, and shoppers would park in the long-term Lumber Lane lot and ride "downtown."

"Visual Pollution"

The shuttle, while only moderately successful in its first short run, will again circle the village streets, beginning on Memorial Day weekend.

Larry Cantwell, the Village Administrator, said he preferred "not having an arm." But, he said, while visitors unfamiliar with the time limits might claim they did not see the signs, no one could claim, "Officer, I didn't see the gate."

"Either way," said Mr. Edwards, there's going to be "visual pollution."

With these arms, "we're trying to come to grips with the parking situation," the Mayor said.

Maybe, suggested Mr. Cantwell, "we can decorate them with flower pots."