As restaurants hurriedly prepared to expand operations to accommodate outdoor diners this week, the East Hampton Town Board sketched out a plan to temporarily change traffic circulation on several streets in Montauk's downtown as well as a one-day-a-week closure of a segment of Main Street to vehicular traffic.
The plan, which the board described as a pilot program, is in part an effort to create more open space for pedestrians and cyclists, allowing social distancing to continue as the town moved yesterday into the second of a four-phase reopening of the economy as directed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
It is also designed to accommodate restaurants in Montauk's densely developed downtown that have limited space for outdoor seating. The proposal also relates to longstanding discussion about more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly hamlets, as recommended in the studies that were recently added to the town's comprehensive plan.
The Business Recovery Group, convened in April to develop guidelines and recommendations for the reopening of commercial activity that began on Long Island on May 27, proposed the changes to traffic circulation, the supervisor said.
At its meeting via video conference on Tuesday, Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc posted a map depicting a trapezoid formed by South Euclid Avenue, South Edison Street, South Elmwood Avenue, and South Embassy Street. One-way traffic on these streets would form a loop around the downtown green that would "allow for better circulation around the downtown area," Mr. Van Scoyoc said, while still allowing close access to businesses. This would make downtown more pedestrian and bicycle friendly, "certainly on those days when the highway was closed," he said.
Paul Monte, president of the Montauk Chamber of Commerce, participated in the discussion and suggested bicycle paths on the temporarily designated one-way streets. Mr. Van Scoyoc agreed.
Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo participated in the meeting, during which the phase-two allowance for restaurants to offer outdoor dining was another topic of lengthy discussion, and spoke enthusiastically of the plan. "This is something we've spoken about for quite some time," he said. "The original layout of downtown really lends itself to a couple of one-way streets which would allow more friendly pedestrian flow," as well as better and safer sightlines. A pilot program "would be very positive," he said, and "allow people to spread out a little bit more."
This would alleviate congestion on sidewalks, where restaurants may be serving patrons as long as the weather allows. The proposal "creates a safe, open-air, easy access, and much better flow with people accessing these restaurants and businesses," the chief said. There are a few places of concern with respect to left-hand turns and speeding, he said, and traffic-calming measures would have to be developed and put in place, "but over all I support the idea of trying this out for the summer."
Montauk's Hampton Jitney station is now along the eastbound lane of South Euclid Avenue, which under the plan would see one-way traffic heading west. In that orientation, a bus's door would open into traffic. There is discussion of moving the station to South Edison Street, just north of Main Street, Mr. Van Scoyoc said.
Chief Sarlo expressed reservations about designating South Euclid Avenue a one-way street where the hamlet's post office is situated, which he said might pose a challenge for some motorists. "I'm not 100 percent sure that's necessary to be one-way," he said.
Changes would be phased in, implementing the one-way trapezoid of streets as a first step, the supervisor said. That "will require a lot of signage and some temporary barriers" so motorists are aware of what they can and cannot do, he said. Once the new traffic circulation has been evaluated, a temporary closure of Main Street between the one-way trapezoid's eastern and western boundaries -- part of Route 27, a New York State highway -- would be added, pending permission from the state.
Most members of the Business Recovery Group agreed that if the street were to be closed one day per week, Thursday would be the best choice, corresponding with Montauk's farmers market on the downtown green, Mr. Van Scoyoc said. "In conjunction with that, some restaurants could move into the public right of way on those days . . . provided the town board agrees and the public feels that they can give this a whirl."
Though it was still in the conceptual stage on Tuesday, Mr. Van Scoyoc said that "we'd want to try and start as soon as possible." A lighted sign on Montauk Highway west of downtown could warn motorists heading to Montauk of the new traffic patterns, and outreach to the hamlet's citizens advisory committee and the general public would be necessary. "This is temporary," he said, and "requires that people be willing to entertain a bit of a change on a short-term basis." In light of "more than a little change on a not-so-temporary basis during the pandemic," however, this may not be particularly onerous, he said.