Listening to Mr. Right

The board discussed the possible reduction of the speed limits on Hither Lane and Middle Lane from 30 to 25 miles per hour

Sep. 11, 2013

Christopher Walsh

Like the post-Labor Day calm that descended on East Hampton Village last week, the village board’s work session last Thursday was brief, quiet, and uneventful.

The board discussed the possible reduction of the speed limits on Hither Lane and Middle Lane from 30 to 25 miles per hour. Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. told the board that Andrew Right, who lives on Further Lane but is in the process of relocating to Hither Lane, had brought to his attention that, while the speed limit on Middle Lane is currently 30 miles per hour, surrounding arterial roadways have a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit. He suggested that, in the absence of discussion by the board or comment by members of the public, a public hearing be scheduled.

Linda Riley, the village attorney, asked the mayor whether other residents had complained about the speed limit. Some had done so informally, the mayor said, but Mr. Right’s mention of the higher speed limit on the streets in question was the catalyst for this discussion. “What we’re doing is, assuming that we had the public hearing, bringing that into compliance with the contiguous streets,” he said.

The board members agreed to schedule a hearing for next month.

Also at the work session, the board adopted a resolution declaring a state of emergency to allow the immediate excavation and restoration of the Hook Pond outflow pipe. “It’s been a little bit more of an undertaking than we expected,” the mayor said, adding that Scott Fithian, the village’s superintendent of public works, was at the site as the work session was taking place.

Excavators worked for five days, Becky Molinaro, the village administrator, said in an e-mail on Tuesday. The water levels, she wrote, have decreased to acceptable levels, but the village may have to revisit the matter, depending on weather conditions. “The Village Department of Public Works will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as necessary,” Ms. Molinaro wrote.

“Isn’t it nice to be able to get around kind of footloose and fancy-free?” the mayor asked, at the conclusion of the brief session. “We welcome them into the community,” he said of the tourists and summer residents, “and we wish them well on their departure.”