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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/19/1996 Rf(lMO DEe 2 1996 . . <<;o",I",lAT,,_d"'" Southold Transportation Committee Southold Town Hall November ]9, ]996 Present: Neboysha Brashich. Margaret Brown. Victor Brown. Frank Field. Barbara Heaney. Barbara Michelson. Valerie Scopaz Light Rail Initiative Neb and Valerie reported on a meeting of the East End Transportation Council two weeks ago in Southampton. at which George Haikalis. a Traffic Consultant. and Jeffrey Zupan. an Engineer for the Regional Planning Association spoke on the pros and cons of "light rail" transportation. Valerie reported that Light Rail (henceforth referred to in these minutes as "LR") is distinguished from commuter rail by the distances covered: commuter rail travels upwards of 50 miles. while LR is shorter and more locaL LR has become a trend in metropolitan areas and may be a more cost effective solution to mass transit than subways and busses. Advantages of LR for our area identified by Jeffrey Zupan include: I. Relief of the traffic bottleneck in the Hamptons; 2. Improvement of the quality of life in the villages by reducing the number of cars; 3. Appeal to all sectors of the population, especially teenagers and seniors, and others without access to cars; 4. Helpful to families with only one car. George Haikalis reported that LR is more economical than heavy rail because it normally consists of only one long car requiring only one operator. This saves on labor costs. Currently rail-airport links are weak. LR could possibly fill this gap. However. since we have a single- track system with only a few switches, the frequency of service would be limited. New computer technology is available to automatically change switches. but has not been installed on the East End. Double tracks or more siding would help. The overall view seemed to be cautious optimism, but there are obstacles: technology. track limitations. low demand for alternative forms of transportation. A great boon to East End transportation would be a connection from the Greenport line to the Hamptons line via Speonk. perhaps. At this time, there is no such connection between the two forks, except via Ronkonkoma. Neb was concerned that there need to be links from the railroad stations to the hamlet centers and other local attractions. Permission to use the LIRR tracks is essential, and may be attainable. There is enough interest and commitment on the part of the 5 towns to pursue the discussion. Valerie handed out a list of ideas and questions regarding LR for u~ to work with. Any ideas or suggestions should be given to her before the next meeting of t~F'puncil. Sea Trails Neb has had several discussions with Steve Ridler (DOS) and Jitn McMahon with regard to the Kayak Trails. We will go forward with a Kayak Mini-Project. to be paid for by existing financing of the Department of State. This project in Greenport will be a prototype for a larger plan for North Fork Sea Trails. The site is off Manhasset A venue, near Brewers Yacht Yard. Mike Acebo will be asked to help in planning the prototype. Moore's Woods We received a letter from Karl Beard. NY Projects Director of the National Park Service. dated October 30. 1996. informing us that the Moore's Woods Trails & Recreation Plan project has been selected to receive continued assistance from the Rivers. Trails and Conservation Assistance program of the National Park Service during 1997. The NPS plans to come during the first week in December to meet with a group representing the interests of the woods and Greenport. Neb has asked NPS if they will need further funding. so that we can apply for it if necessary. . . ":l/, r) ~\.' 't" \',' DOT Grant: Neb has been working on the final written agreement to be presented to the Department of Transportation to activate the funds. Margaret will help get it into final form, Bicvcle Trails: The Bayview Loop is essentially ready for signs. Barbara. Neb and Margaret have identified the placement of the safety and directional signs. Ray Jacobs has the safety signs ready to put up. The directional signs need to be ordered. Paul Kreiling is to send the final version with paint color samples as soon as possible. Mr. Jacobs is willing to put up the safety signs even if the directional signs are not ready. Barbara and Margaret have also marked most of the Oregon Road/New Suffolk Loop in one direction and will finish the loop soon. Glynnis, Victor, and Margaret have been working on the Trail Map. The format is basically established, but questions remain with regard to the type of paper. the size of the map. the way it will be folded. and colors used in printing allowable within the budget. Barbara Michelson will write to Bermuda to inquire about the production of their map (which is being used as a prototype for our map). Police/Safetv Column in Newspaper Victor has looked into the possibility of a "Citizen Safety" column under the byline of the Police Chief. Victor suggested that it cover traffic safety; home safety. and water safety. with the articles coming from several sources: our committee. AAA. the National Safety Council. and local sources. The column would have a slant. such as "Tips on..." and would be written in an easily accessible manner - perhaps almost like a list of bulleted items. Neb asked for a consensus of the committee on whether to go ahead with the idea. Margaret thinks the column should stick to Transportation safety issues. Barbara M. says the newspaper may have a limiting ratio of advertising to free columns. Valerie suggested a discussion with Joe Gold, chairman of the Police Committee. Other Business: Neb suggested that Barbara H. invite Glynnis Berry to a Greenport Village Board meeting to discuss the possible dangers of making a bicycle lane on one side of Main Street in Greenport. He also suggested that anything Greenport decided to do about transportation should be shared (in writing if possible) with the Southold Transportation Committee. We will change our meeting time so that relevant items disclissed by this committee can be brought to the Greenport Village Board in a more timely manner. We will meet on the first Monday of each month from 9:30 - 11:30 AM at Town Hall. The next meeting will be Monday, December 2.1996, 9:30AM at Southold Town Hall. Respectfully submit~ed: Margaret H. Brown ;...'l