Board Revisits Newtown Lane Changes

Drew Bennett, a consulting engineer for the East Hampton Village Board, summarized modified plans for road work on two of the village’s busiest streets at the board’s work session last Thursday. He had presented original proposals to the board at its meeting on Sept. 19. Board members seem pleased with his recommendations, but have not yet approved them.

Using aerial photographs to illustrate the changes, Mr. Bennett showed the intersection of Newtown Lane with Railroad Avenue, where reflectors would be installed in the center lane to indicate the turn. Some curbs would be replaced on the north side of Newtown Lane just east of the railroad tracks.

Mr. Bennett proposed an electronic speed limit sign that would also show each eastbound vehicle’s rate of speed on Newtown Lane across from Osborne Lane. The sign would be to the west of the East Hampton Middle School zone, and a similar electronic sign would be installed for westbound traffic east of the middle school. The crosswalk in front of the school, as well as the crosswalk at the intersection of Newtown with Park Place, would be illuminated, he said.

The two lanes of eastbound travel which now begin at Park Place should be extended a short distance to the west, to the entrance to Waldbaum’s parking lot. The short extension would reduce congestion, Mr. Bennett said. And, while there is no plan for a traffic signal at Park Place, an underground conduit would be installed should one be needed in the future. “We’re proposing to relocate the existing bus shelter farther east, closer to Waldbaum’s,” he also told the board.

 The raised concrete island on Railroad Avenue that separates train station and flow-through traffic would be replaced and feature colorized concrete imprinted to look like bricks. Barbara Borsack, the deputy mayor, suggested at the work session that the raised island at the intersection of Newtown Lane and Main Street, which is not to be replaced, be given the same look. “We should incorporate that,” Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. said.

Richard Burns, the school district superintendent, thanked the board for considering changes to improve safety for middle school students, who often cross Newtown Lane to Herrick Park. “We’re very happy to be supportive of it in any way we can be helpful,” he said. “You can help pay for it,” the mayor quipped. 

At the board’s meeting on Friday, Oct. 17, it is expected to schedule public hearings on Nov. 21 on two amendments to the village code pertaining to streets and sidewalks, a result of PSEG Long Island’s unpopular installation of new, taller poles for its transmission system, which have been treated with a chemical preservative.

One amendment would require a public hearing prior to the issuance of a permit by the village for the erection of any new poles, so that concerns can be aired about their size, location, materials, and chemicals used in their manufacture. The other would require public utilities to remove any old or damaged utility poles that are in close proximity to new ones within 30 days of erecting new ones.

“This is a very valid additional step that we can take,” the mayor said. “It’s been a learning curve over the last year, and I think this is one mechanism we can put in place to be pre-emptive and proactive.”

Ms. Borsack started the meeting with a personal statement in connection with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “Were it not for my annual mammogram six years ago in January, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here today,” she said. “We’d like to take this opportunity to remind everybody that your loved ones need to be checked. . . . It does make a difference. And men also can get breast cancer, so make sure, men, that you know the signs and symptoms so you’re aware as well.”