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After tragedy, elected officials, residents cry out for safety measures on Route 48

After a tragic accident on County Road 48 in Greenport took the life of Laurel resident Howard Meinke, 86, Thursday night, residents and elected officials alike are crying out for change at a location that has seen at least three deaths in the past 10 years.

But despite the fatalities, the speed limit on Route 48 remains 50 miles per hour, the same as it was in 2007. And although a crosswalk was created on the road, with two bright yellow pedestrian crosswalk signs, there is no blinking light or traffic signal at the location.

Lack of government action to change the dangerous situation have left some residents asking how much tragedy will need to unfold before something is done. On Friday, Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski said he is working toward a solution.

Meinke died after being hit by a car while walking to the parking lot across the road from the Soundview Restaurant, where he’d attended an Eastern Long Island Hospital spaghetti night fundraiser with his wife Margaret.

According to Southold Town police, Eric Melrose, 41, of Greenport, was driving east on County Road 48 when he struck Meinke, who was attempting to cross the road in a marked crosswalk.

Meinke is not the first to die on that stretch of road. In 2007, Robert Haase, owner of Orient by the Sea, lost his father George at the spot after they’d been enjoying dinner together at the Soundview. And in 2009, a man died aftter he’d parked in the lot across the road, gone into the restaurant to use the phone, and was hit residents recalled.

Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said while he could not immediately say how many accidents have taken place at the location over the past 10 years, there had been two prior fatalities.

“Something should be done,” Haase said Friday morning, after hearing the tragic news. “Something should have been done a long time ago.” Haase added that he felt terribly for Rachel Murphy, owner of the Soundview Restaurant and hotel. “It’s not her fault. She’s been on the phone for years, saying something should be done.”

Suggestions, he said, could include a lower rate of speed at the location or flashing yellow lights.

Krupski said Friday morning that he’d just spoken with Meinke last night, at the fundraiser at Soundview, but had left a little while before the accident. “You just never know,” he said, shocked by the news.

The dangerous road conditions on Route 48 in that location have been a subject of concern for the county for years, Krupski said, adding that he’d met with William Hillman, chief engineer for the Suffolk County Department of Works, last year to discuss solutions.

“That section of road, the odd part is that normally, people want to see a road straightened because of dangerous turns. In this case, we’d like to try to move the road to the south to get it further way from the restaurant.”

Plans have been discussed to move the roadway south for a year, Krupski said, meaning that all parking would then be sited on the north side of the roadway and pedestrians would no longer have to cross the road on foot to get to their cars.

And, while there is currently a crosswalk, Krupski said “crosswalks don’t necessarily provide safety.”

Krupski, who was headed to Yaphank Friday to discuss the plans after Thursday’s accident, said that the project would mean “a major reconstruction job. It’s not like putting up a sign. But this is something that needs to be addressed.”

Residents, shocked and saddened by Meinke’s death, agree. “That’s such a bad spot,” said Susan Tyler, of Cutchogue. “They put down the bolder crosswalk and put in the bright crosswalk signs after the last vehicle versus pedestrian fatality there, but the speed limit is still 50 miles per hour. It boggles my mind. I drive through there at least twice a week and instinctively slow down, because it just feels like I’m going too fast. . . It’s terrible.”

Added CJ Blaise Haase, on the SoutholdLocal Facebook page, “How many deaths at this spot need to happen, before something is done? This is horrific, and never should have happened.”

 

 

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