East Hampton Village Police Chief Michael Tracey presented the village board with a proposal to change parking regulations on several village streets at a board meeting last Thursday.
On the north side of Newtown Lane, from Osborne Lane to the Long Island Rail Road tracks, he recommended extending the time limit for parking from one hour to two. The change would benefit businesses in the area, including a barbershop and hair salon whose customers, he said, often find themselves exceeding the one-hour limit.
On the west side of Race Lane, where the Hello Oma market, Sam's Beverage Place, and the restaurant Dopo La Spiaggia are located, he proposed enlarging a no-parking zone from where the street intersects with Railroad Avenue to 195 feet south, to improve the sight lines from a store's driveway there. That change would eliminate one parking spot, the chief noted. He also recommended reducing the parking time limit on that stretch to 30 minutes, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., "due to complaints from business owners."
Vehicles are now not allowed to make a left turn from Pleasant Lane onto Newtown Lane, and Chief Tracey proposed limiting that restriction to between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Keeping the restriction during that time, he said, will help protect pedestrians who use the Newtown Lane crosswalk to the west of Pleasant Lane.
He proposed prohibiting parking entirely on Middle Lane between Cross Highway and Egypt Lane. "As the size of the road and the shoulders have changed, the road has narrowed to 14 feet wide in some areas, so there's literally no room for anyone to park on that road without causing significant traffic impact," he said.
Chief Tracey also suggested that parking be prohibited on both sides of Egypt Lane from its intersection with Fithian Lane to Pantigo Road. "The logic behind that is that both sides of that road are now curbed, [and] there is no shoulder."
He proposed there be no parking on the east side of Church Street from its intersection with Buell Lane to the border of the John M. Marshall Elementary School property, in response, he said, to complaints from residents there. Because the elementary school is now using a driveway on Church Street as an exit point, he also recommended prohibiting parking from the school's southern property line to Medway, between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, to provide better sight lines for vehicles leaving the school.
On James Lane along Town Pond, the chief proposed shortening the present two-hour limit to 30 minutes, during the summer only.
He proposed making Mill Road, a short and narrow street that cuts through the village green across from St. Luke's Episcopal Church, one way heading west toward Main Street. During the summer, he said, "there's a terrific backup of traffic" on Main Street caused by drivers attempting to turn left onto Mill Road in an effort to avoid the traffic light at the intersection of Woods Lane and Main Street.
He suggested removing a prohibition on parking on both sides of Cove Hollow Road south of Montauk Highway. Parking would be allowed between the intersection of the streets to 375 feet south, to let residents park on the shoulder of the road.
Also at last week's meeting, Joseph Duda, an actuarial consultant, apprised the board of the long-term liability costs of providing post-retirement health insurance to its employees. Making a 15-year projection based on figures from Aug. 1, 2019, Mr. Duda estimated the overall cost at about $19 million. There is an inverse relationship between interest rates and the liability cost, however, he said, and since interest rates have declined during the pandemic, the projected liability as of July 31, 2020, has risen to more than $23 million. "The good news for today is that everyone is living longer, but the bad news is, you have to pay for it," he said.
In an effort to limit the long-term costs, Becky Molinaro Hansen, the village administrator, recommended that the board institute a health insurance opt-out for nonunion employees. Those who opt out and prove that they have alternative health insurance coverage from a spouse or domestic partner would be provided with an annual stipend, she said. "If the board is receptive to this proposal, I would recommend doing a survey of employees to see who would opt into it, and then I can do a more detailed cost analysis of what the savings would actually be for the village," Ms. Hansen said. Board members were receptive, and encouraged her to conduct the survey.
Michael Bouker, deputy superintendent of public works, provided the board with a report on the village's status relating to the state and federally mandated program governing stormwater runoff into municipal sewer systems (known as MS4s). To prevent harmful pollutants, such as fertilizers, toxic chemicals, bacteria, and debris from flowing into MS4s as well as nearby bodies of water, municipalities are required to develop a stormwater management program.
The village has upgraded its infrastructure "with a retrofit plan approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation," and the program is in compliance, Mr. Bouker said. He recommended reviewing the program this fall to assess whether new technologies and procedures should be adopted. He and Rose Brown, a trustee, also suggested that the village purchase new equipment such as a street sweeper and a Vacall sewer cleaner to pick up possible pollutants that stormwater might carry into Georgica Pond and other water bodies.