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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFactory Ave & Rt 25JEAN W. COCHRAN SUPERVISOR Town Hail, 53095 Main Road P.O. Box 1179 Southold, New York 11971 Fax (516) 765-1823 Telephone (516) 765-1889 OFFICE OF THE SUPERVISOR TOWN OF SOUTHOLD February l8, 2000 Craig Siracusa, Director Region 10 Department of Transportation State Office Building Veterans Memorial Highway Hauppauge, NY 11788 Dear Craig, This letter is being sent in the hopes that the new collaborative approach to the resolution of problems along SR 25, which you so deafly articulated at our last meeting this past fall, can be applied to the following situation. This past winter, a traffic light was installed at the intersection of SR 25 and Factory Avenue in Mattituck. Its installation had been preceded by repeated requests for a light dating back to at least November of 1992. Almost immediately, serious traffic problems resulted from what appears to be poor design and placement of both the lights and the affiliated signage. Complaints about the ensuing problems, and, perhaps most disturbingly, about the lack of responsiveness on the part of DOT staff reached my desk. I asked Neboysha Brashich and Valerie Scopaz to discuss the matter with the Town's Transportation Committee. The Committee decided to invite all concerned business owners located on SR 25 between the vicinity of Sigsbee Drive/Factory Avenue and Bay Avenue, whether directly affected by the new light or not, to a meeting to discuss the situation. To wit: the poor siting of directional signage has compounded the dubious siting of the light at the intersection of Factory Avenue and SR 25. As a result, some businesses fear for their customer's lives as frustrated ddvers cut across pdvate parking lots or traverse pedestrian walks. Long waiting lines for the light to change are tying up fire lanes and blocking entrances to parking areas. There is insufficient advance notice in the eastbound lane that left-tum travel lanes notwithstanding, once you pass Factory Avenue you cannot tum from them into the shopping center. Inside the shopping center, leaving has become a puzzle due to the positioning and wording of the signage at the primary exits. Further, motorists in the eastbound lane that failed to tum left at the light are tuming into the shopping center via the exit ramp from the North Fork Bank drive-up windows at the easternmost end of the center. The confusion of motorists is considerable - and this is the winter season. The magnitude of the chaos that will ensue as the peak summer season approaches is something I wish to avoid entirely. As the attached correspondence bears out, the process by which the positioning of the lighting was reached and the lack of response to the pleas of the business community since the light's installation reflect a lack of understanding of the situation in the field and a callous indifference to local concerns on the part of some members of your staff. The summer season will be upon us in less than three months. The vitality of the local economy is heavily dependent on the success of this season. This intersection is a gateway to Mattituck and the rest of the Town. Accordingly, the situation at this intersection must be resolved prior to that time. [ have set a meeting date for March 8~ at 3 PM in the atternoon for you and your staff to meet with me and my staff, including Raymond .lacobs, Highway Superintendent, Lt. Ty Cochran, Deputy Chief of Police, Neboysha Brashich, Chairman of the Transportation Committee, and Valerie Scopaz, Town Planner. Representatives of the business community in the vicinity of the light also will be in attendance. The purpose of the meeting will be to find a more reasonable solution to the problems engendered by this light. Sincerely, .lean W. Cochran Supervisor Cc: Patricia L. Acampora, Assemblywoman Raymond Jacobs, Highway Superintendent Lt. Ty Cochran, Deputy Police Chief Neboysha Brashich, Chairman, Transportation Committee Valerie Scopaz, ATCP, Town Planner Business Community