Lower Speed Limits Ahead

Three pieces of state legislation specifically drafted for the Sag Harbor community have passed the Assembly and the Senate.

Lower speed limits are coming to East Hampton and Sag Harbor Villages. According to the new legislation, speed limits will be reduced to 20 miles per hour on certain streets in the two villages.

In Sag Harbor, the limit will be reduced on Main Street, Bay Street, Madison Street, and Jermain Avenue. In East Hampton, King Street, McGuirk Street, Middle Lane, Mill Hill Lane, and Meadow Lane will see reductions. All the streets currently have 25 m.p.h. limits, which is the minimum under state laws, except for school zones. Anything lower requires special legislation.

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, who drafted the legislation at the request of both village boards when he was also serving as Sag Harbor Village’s attorney, said the villages’ roadways have become more and more congested and dangerous. “The additions of new traffic calming measures are not always feasible in the village due to the landscaping configurations and desired community character,” Mr. Thiele said in a statement. The best way to make the streets safer for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians, is to lower the speed limit, he said.

Senator Kenneth P. LaValle introduced the bill in the Senate.

Another piece of legislation also benefits the Village of Sag Harbor, allowing it to create an organized and regulated mooring field in waters that are more than 1,500 feet from shore. Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of transient vessels anchoring in the waters surrounding the village, in an area that was an unregulated “no man’s land,” Mr. Thiele said. The haphazard mooring area posed a safety hazard to boaters and swimmers. There have been reports of boats sinking and washing up on the breakwater or at Havens Beach, spilling debris and fuel and discharging sewage.

 The village asked that East Hampton Town Trustees be allowed to manage what had become an unregulated seasonal anchorage area beyond the village breakwater, which is in the trustees’ jurisdiction. The trustees gave their support in March, after the legislation had passed the Senate. The Assembly voted on June 15.

The bills are now on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s desk for approval.