| Issue #26, September 22, 2006 |
A New Solution
Our Reporter Tries Tuesday Morning’s Commute on Cty. Rd 39
By David Stoll
One of the best parts of writing for this paper is sitting at my desk, in my Aeron chair, writing criticisms of really bad ideas floated by politicians and bureaucrats. On the other hand, sometimes Dan makes me go out into the field to experience the implementation of those bad ideas. Today was such a day.
Readers who have been following the story of the cones know that for several weeks at the end of the summer season, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy issued an administrative order to set up cones along that the portion of Route 27 owned by the County in order to create a second east-bound lane, by co-opting the median, left-turn lane. The road, known as CR 39, runs from the merge at the Lobster Inn to the intersection with the 7-Eleven at North Sea Road.
The experiment was a success. As both Dan and I reported, the biggest problem when driving during the morning rush hour “trade parade” was taking care not to speed. It is true that because left turns were prohibited along the stretch, businesses on the west-bound side catering to morning commuters suffered. This was a shame, indeed, but most east-bound travelers appreciated that traffic sped along.
Mr. Levy then proposed to permanently expand CR 39 to create two real east-bound lanes while maintaining the median, left-turn lane. As this project, in whatever form it ultimately may take, would take two full off-seasons to implement, it is hoped that the cones will make a comeback next summer.
All seemed well until Mr. Steve got too clever by half and came up with an idea that entitles him to the Moron of the Week award. (He may deny personal responsibility for the idea, but since he insisted on taking personal responsibility for the cone program, even though Jay Schneiderman forced Mr. Levy’s hand, it seems fair enough to mock Mr. Levy for the current blunder.)
The idea is this. Eliminate all cones, restoring CR 39 to its one-lane procession, BUT, ostensibly to make traffic move more quickly, prevent people from turning on to CR 39 from back roads. In other words, if you were to exit the Sunrise Highway at the Shinnecock Exit just after the Canal and take the Old Montauk Highway east, you may not return to CR 39 during the trade parade. If you use the Old Montauk Highway to get all the way to Southampton Village and beyond, the new restrictions make no difference to you. But if you use the Old Montauk Highway to bypass the merge and then return to CR 39 in order to get to your place of business, your only choice is to add to the merge traffic.
Dan asked me to investigate. Is this idea really as bad as it sounds? So, I awoke early, scalded my throat with two cups of quickly-consumed coffee, and got into my car with my dog, Pete. I had been through this routine once before, at that time marveling at the cones and fast-moving east-bound traffic as I headed west on CR-39. This time, I would marvel at the ridiculous and unnecessarily slow-moving traffic.
I drove all the way to the Hamptons Bays exit, looped back on to the Sunrise Highway now heading east, and proceeded along, knowing full well what sort of traffic I would encounter and wondering why Dan enjoys playing with my peace of mind. As is always the case, traffic moved well even beyond the Shinnecock Exit. This is the fates’ way of tricking people into staying on Route 27 rather than taking back roads.
Just before the merge, traffic stalled, so I had plenty of time to read the new signs. No longer was I ominously warned that there would be no left turns for five miles; those signs had been whited out. Now I was told that there would be no access to CR 39 from the Old Montauk Highway. The “Reduce Speed Ahead” signs remain, their former irony having been gloriously restored. After some time, I made it through the merge and crawled towards North Sea Road.
Although I had taken the rush-hour trade parade route only once before — for my report on the cones — I certainly have been stuck in weekend CR 39 traffic many times, so I know a little something about the traffic patterns. Traffic seemed to lurch and slow along the CR 39 stretch as it used to. We drove just a bit faster immediately after the merge, slowed to a near-halt at the Tuckahoe Road and McGee Street traffic lights, and then sped up after the traffic light near P. C. Richard’s. While stuck near the McGee Street light, Pete and I were sprayed by someone’s irrigation system.
The trip from the merge to North Sea Road took more than double the time it had taken when the cones were out, even though that was during the high season. It was certainly the case that the restricted access to CR 39 from back roads did not improve traffic. Whether the restrictions made things worse after merge is hard to say. One reason that the restrictions may be utterly irrelevant beyond the merge is that every single south-side gas station and business and south-bound road is accessible from CR-39. People slow down to turn off, and others merge back on. Closing down a measly few access points cannot possibly make a difference.
So, with the adventure completed, I am back in my Aeron chair, criticizing Mr. Levy. Hopefully he will decide in short order that, if we cannot have our cones anymore, at the very least our traffic should be permitted to revert to “traffic jam as usual,” without silly gimmicks.
* * *
Perhaps by some miracle, traffic conditions will improve. Time will tell. Watch for the next installment in the next issue. –DR
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