Mattituck had a Christmas wish granted this week: a $25,000 Suffolk County grant that will cover the cost of a traffic study for the intersection of Main Road and Love Lane.
The funding was announced yesterday by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. It is part of a $7.5 million infrastructure investment package to be funded by the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development through the state’s START-UP NY Program.
“I’m so excited. The civic association is so excited,” said Mary Eisenstein, president of the Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association, which has been pushing for improvements at that intersection.
“We did a year’s worth of process, gathered input from individuals in the community, held two round tables and came up with a plan we presented to the town board,” Eisenstein said. “I’m very happy the study is going forward.”
It was at a civic association round table in March that local, county and state officials agreed to pursue funding for a formal study.
“The safety of the intersection of Love Lane is important to the region,” Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said today.
Civic association representatives in April presented the town board with a traffic-calming plan by the group. The plan suggests the following measures:
- create “functional crosswalks” at key intersections to facilitate traffic calming and maximize pedestrian safety
- install a landscaped berm at the intersection to better define lanes of travel
- install curbing and raised pedestrian crosswalks on Love Lane and Old Sound Avenue
- install crosswalks with pedestrian-activated flashing lights or other safety features on Main Road at Wickham, Old Sound and New Suffolk avenues.
- create a single lane of diagonal parking on the south side of Old Sound Avenue.
The civic suggested the town also consider the installation of traffic signals at the Main Road-Love Lane-Old Sound Avenue intersection as well as at the Main Road intersections with New Suffolk Avenue and Wickham Avenue.
The town board reacted favorably to the civic association’s proposal and said in April it would seek funding to hire an engineering firm to develop a formal plan.
After Councilman William Ruland said someone should make a video of the intersection to demonstrate how crazy traffic patterns can be, Mattituck-Laurel Civic did just that. The group is planning to screen the video publicly for the first time Feb. 2 at North Fork Community Theater.
The aim of the video is to raise awareness of the problems presented by the current configuration of the intersection with a visual presentation, because “seeing is believing,” Eisenstein said.
Southold Town subsequently solicited proposals from engineering firms for a traffic study and concluded the study could be done for under $25,000. Dunn Engineering submitted the lowest cost proposal, at $22,000, and it was “very comprehensive,” the town engineer said in June. Officials then set about to find assistance with funds to pay for the study.
“I am grateful for the support we have received, especially from Suffolk County’s Director of Planning and Economic Development, Theresa Ward,” Russell said today.
Bellone made the announcement yesterday at MacArthur Airport in Islip, which is slated to receive $1.25 million in funding for the design of a federal inspection station at the airport. The Ronkonkoma Hub project will receive $1.5 million in funding. Other projects funded are located in Brookhaven, Smithtown, Huntington and Babylon.
“Supporting community based planning is vital to grow Suffolk County’s economy,” Bellone said. “These projects will create jobs and provide the support we need for vibrant downtowns. Part of being responsible with taxpayer dollars is making critical investments in community-based plans that help grow our economy.”
