HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/25/2008RECEIVED
Southold Transportation Commission SE? S? 2 9 2008
Southold Town Hall
August 25, 2008 Sout~'gl~l~'wa
Id Towo Clerk
Present: Neboysha Brashich, Margaret Brown, Frank Field, Tom Fox, Teresa Taylor, Capt. Marty Flatley, Jamie
Richter, Curt Davids, Highway Department.
Approval of May 27 Meeting Minutes: The Minutes of the July 28 meeting received unanimous approval, on a
motion by Tom Fox, seconded by Teresa Taylor.
Southold Town Bus Shelters: The County is still waiting for permits from the DOT to place bus shelters in
Southold and Greenport. The first choice for placement of the Southold shelter is in front of the library.
Hamlet Transportation Enhancements Program TEP: Neb spoke to the RBA Group and learned there had been
eighteen submissions from Nassau and Suffolk counties for the grant. The DOT commission is now reviewing
the proposals. An announcement is expected in December or January.
EETC Update: The EETC had two meetings: on August 6 and August 13. The meeting on the 6t~ was a
continuation of the review of Phase I of the Volpe report. Volpe seems to be ready to begin Phase II and consider
at least two possible solutions. Margaret reported that the meeting on August 13 included a conference call with
Eli Machek on the phone and Scan Pierce in person from Volpe. Each town has provided Volpe with possible bus
routes from each community. Most Suffolk County Transit routes westward from Riverhead would continue, but
otherwise the new service would replace SCT routes. A large part of the discussion involved hours and frequency
of service and incorporation of the "Cannonball" runs to the South Fork on weekends. Existing train stations and
re-opened stations on both forks were mentioned, possible fares were discussed and Volpe agreed to study a fare
of $2.50 and also Free/no fare. $2.50 is not enough to fund the system but might impart a sense of value, while
Free has the advantage of no costs for staffing, implementing, overseeing, and infrastructure necessary for a fare
collecting system. It was decided that proposed expanded park-and-fide bus stops in Orient, Cutchogue and
Wading River were not practical and that concept has been abandoned. Conventional fixed-route service versus
"flex-route" service will be discussed at the September 10 meeting.
Councilman Krnpski's Request re No Parking Signage on Rte 25: This will remain on the agenda for further
discussion. Jamie will talk to Kevin Matthau about removing the "No Parking" signs across the road from
Kmpski's farm stand.
The Town Board met with the Agricultural Advisory Committee and rejected the suggestions made by
this Commission for parking remedies at farm stands.
Supervisor's Request Review - First & Orchard. New Suffolk: A letter from Jerry Schultheis, dated July 29,
2008 and received by the Town Board, was forwarded to the Transportation Commission by Supervisor Russell
regarding traffic in New Suffolk. The problem addressed by Mr. Schultheis is the intersection of First and
Orchard Streets. He requested that a stop sign be placed at the intersection. Neb will respond to the Supervisor,
stating that a sign doesn't appear to be warranted, but a police accident report has been requested. Other items
addressed in the letter include encroachment onto the Town right-of-way by landscaping of private homes, thus
interfering with traffic and parking. We recommend that code enforcement be employed to resolve this problem.
Long Island Transportation Management - Commuter Programs: A spokesperson for "nuride' has been invited to
the September meeting.
Current Transportation Issues- Updates:
North Fork Beach Condominium Signage Request: Work has been underway for seven weeks and the
job is not finished. We will wait to see if money exists for the safety striping that we requested.
Parking Restrictions for New Suffolk Area: The Town legal department is making sure the wording is
OK. At this point, several signs are illegible and need to be replaced.
Town Orientation/Interpretive Signage Project - RBA Update: The RBA draft proposal has been
distributed to nine stakeholder committees and is in the Supervisor's office for the Commission to read and
comment on. The deadline for com~nents is Sept. 5. Once RBA has the final draft, they will go to the Town
Board, who must then decide whether to do Phase Il, which is constructing the proposed signage. Within the
proposal are several suggested changes to the Town Code. Neb will let us know when this is scheduled to go
before the Town Board.
Itarbes Winery: Harbes has put up additional parking signs and defined another lot north of Rte. 44].
Five Towns Rural Transit: There was nothing new to report beyond what was covered during the
EETC discussion and Margaret's report.
~: Neb said that Skunk Lane/Eugene's Road is a mess with flooding. Jamie said there is going to be
some drainage work there.
With regard to Co. Rte. 48 and Tucker's Lane in Southold, Jamie wrote a letter to Bill Hillman about new
striping. He spoke to Dan Dresch this rooming and received an apology for the delay in addressing this concern.
He said they will look into it. They also talked about the traffic light at Cox Lane and Rte. 48, to wit that
placement of signs stating "Left Turn Yield on Green" and "No Right on Red" Northbound on Cox Lane would
be addressed.
Construction of the "Gateway Bridge" into Greenport is on schedule.
There will be a Farmstand heating on Sept. 9.
New Business: Neb received a letter from the owner of the Cutchogue Diner, Mr. John Touhey, requesting that
three parking spaces across from the Diner be restored. They were removed by NYSDOT after the repaying of
Rte. 25 in 2006 and this has caused a hardship to the Diner's business. Mr. Touhey asked that the Commission
support his request to the DOT. Neb said he would say to DOT that since The Heritage housing project and any
additional traffic it might generate is years from reality, under current conditions we, the Commission, have no
opposition to his request for restoration of the three parking spaces.
The next meeting is scheduled for 10 AM, Monday, September 29, 2008.
Respectfully submitted, Margaret H. Brown