Restraint on Intersection

    From where we sit at 153 Main Street in the Village of East Hampton, the editorial desks have a good view of the Buell Lane intersection, which was recently the subject of consideration in Village Hall. The problem is this: When East Hampton is crowded, all manner of motorized foolishness is occasioned there. Vehicles try to make an injudicious left turn from Buell Lane, Main Street drivers try to plow along in whatever direction they are headed, and others, from Dunemere, dart onto James Lane or try to cross the intersection to head west on Main Street. Many is the time we have looked up from our work at the sound of screeching tires and metal crashing into metal.

    A consultant hired by the village looked into the options and came up with three possibilities: traffic lights, a roundabout, or permanently eliminating access from Dunemere Lane. None of these found much favor among the village board’s trustees.

    Speaking wisely, Barbara Borsack, one of them, said she favored a seasonal solution, not something that “we would have to live with for 12 months.” During the busy time of year, the village has put up warning cones to force vehicles from Dunemere Lane north onto Main Street, merging near Pondview Lane, or south onto James Lane. This seemed to work. As we gaze out our windows at the trickle of traffic going past on a sunny fall weekday, this course — of restraint before drastic solutions — seems best.