So when the East Hampton Town Board revealed its plan to “beautify” Main Street, Amagansett, the objections were sure to follow, as surely as night follows day. In this instance, we applaud the first draft of the proposed plan as, well, a decent first effort, but it cries out for a second go-round.
The plan as revealed earlier this month calls for the sidewalk to be widened — east to west — on the south side of Main Street, between Hedges Lane and the western entrance to the Amagansett Square parking lot. So far, so good. That is clearly necessary, given that it’s currently impossible for two people to walk side by side in that busy stretch near Amagansett Square. Councilman David Lys’s proposal for bricks set in concrete also seems wise.
Unfortunately, this first-draft plan also calls for “hardscaping” in wide swaths where pedestrian traffic has trampled the existing grass to hard-packed dirt and thin grass, between the street and the buildings containing Jack’s Stir Brew and the Henry Lehr boutiques. Bricks would replace the grass permanently.
This is too much, in our opinion, and not in keeping with the historical look of the Amagansett commercial district. As one neighbor wrote to The Star, “We can always pave, but seldom unpave.”
Do less. Don’t do nothing.
What is needed is a defined walkway, not a plaza of brick.
The current plan calls for bricks across the entire area where the existing flow of heavy foot traffic has created trip hazards and compacted dirt. The paving is proposed over the whole zone trampled by pedestrians who are not, at present, directed (by visual clues, the sidewalk, or landscaping) to keep off the grass. In other words, those wide swaths of grass are under such duress only because there is nothing in the existing landscaping to direct pedestrians not to walk there.
What is needed is for the foot traffic to be channeled, directed onto a narrower brick pathway that carries people from the street to the east-west sidewalk. Landscape designers call this a “desire line”: the route worn down by years of customers shows you where they want to walk and, in this case, they want to walk straight toward the doors to these popular businesses.
To the current proposal, we suggest a counterproposal: a centered A.D.A.-compliant, accessible walkway (perhaps five or six feet wide) from curb to sidewalk, centered on the “desire line” at Jack’s, with restored lawn on either side, plus large planters on either side of the walkway, positioned as edge-definers rather than obstacles. These planters could be filled with greenery that reflects the Amagansett “look,” whether that is hydrangeas or native tall grasses. This would channel foot traffic without making the whole frontage look like a paved plaza. It would also preserve more permeability around the mature trees, which matters aesthetically and practically.
Amagansett — with its benches, hedges, and trees — is blessed with a leafy, soft, village-green feel. That mood must be preserved.