In response to years of community concerns, and taking into account patterns of heavy traffic on the road at certain times of the day and year, the New York State Department of Transportation has agreed to add a left-turn lane on the northwest-bound side of Route 114 at Goodfriend Drive in Wainscott this spring.
Drivers turn at the intersection to reach the Ross School’s upper campus and sports facilities, a self-storage center, the Veterinary Clinic of East Hampton, and other businesses on Goodfriend Drive. The D.O.T. stopped short of recommending a stoplight or flashing yellow light at the intersection, but said the new left-turn lane would be complete by the time the school year begins in September.
In a November letter to the Ross School administration, the D.O.T. said the new lane “will eliminate any potential queues” of cars taking students to school. The new lane will also eliminate “the need for motorists to drive on the shoulder bike lane to pass left-turning motorists,” according to the letter.
The area has been the site of a handful of serious accidents over the years. In October 2014, a mother and two teenagers were injured on their way to the Ross School when, while waiting to make a left turn, their vehicle was clipped by a flatbed truck. In July of that year, a bicyclist was struck by an allegedly drunken driver who veered into the bike lane near Goodfriend Drive. The most recent accident there was in September of last year, prompting many Ross School families to write letters urging the state to take action.
“A few weeks later, everyone who wrote a letter received a letter in return from the D.O.T. stating that they heard us and the addition of turning lanes to 114 is on track,” Dan Roe, a Ross School spokesman, said on Friday.
Tom Sturtevant, Ross’s head of school, said in a statement last Thursday, “We are pleased New York State will widen the road and create proper turn lanes on Route 114.”
New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele explained this week that the D.O.T. would not be claiming any new right of way or acquiring property to accommodate the turning lane: “I know they’re not taking any property for it,” he said, “but they may use some of the shoulder.” He added that he expects the work to start “as soon as the weather breaks” this spring.
“It’s been in the works for quite a while, and it’s finally going to happen,” Mr. Thiele said, noting that in a separate project, a turning lane will also be added to Route 114 at Stephen Hand’s Path later this year.
