Recent roadwork on the shoulder of Route 114 between East Hampton and Sag Harbor has highlighted a truth long known to cyclists on the South Fork: Biking here can be terrifying.
The shoulder of Route 114, once wide and welcoming to road cyclists, has become a rutted, gravel-strewn stretch, and that seems unlikely to change any time soon.
Jeremy Walsh, a spokesman for PSEG Long Island, which is doing work along the road closer to Sag Harbor said in an emailed statement, “In careful consideration of the tourism and leisure focus that these communities have during the summer months, PSEG Long Island will not be conducting any planned roadwork on the South Fork until after Labor Day. Our contractor will be maintaining the temporary pavement throughout the summer, and permanent repaving is expected to be complete by the end of the year.”
Things go from bad to worse if you survive the ride from Sag Harbor to the Stephen Hand’s Path intersection. There, a state job adding left turning lanes and new signals has been a dusty mess for months.
Stephen Canzoneri, the public information officer for the New York State Department of Transportation had this to say:
“The New York State Department of Transportation is advancing a project to enhance safety and reduce travel times at the intersection of State Route 114 and Stephen Hand’s Path. The reconstruction will include new left turn lanes for every approach, new pedestrian accommodations compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and upgrades to the stormwater drainage system. Land surveying is being conducted in advance of the resumption of major construction and all work is expected to be completed this summer.”
Work was originally expected to finish up in February.
Perhaps most frustrating for drivers and cyclists alike is the fact that Route 114, after years of neglect, was just repaved by the state in 2022. Shortly after that, the intersection of Stephen Hand’s was ripped up to add drainage, and then P.S.E.G. and the state got involved with their work. The apparent lack of communication between jurisdictions confounds many.
That’s only the most recent problem, though, for anyone trying to navigate the East End without a car. Despite the noted beauty of the area, this here is car habitat.
“One of the most common questions we get is ‘Where are your bike paths?’ “ said Jason Lucas, owner of the Sag Harbor Cycle Company. “Unfortunately, I have to tell people that there are no off-road, dedicated paths that are paved. There’s little cycling infrastructure here. I wish in general there were places people could go with their kids or families and feel like they could ride safely.”
“Communities have been designed around cars and not people,” said Michael Lieberman of the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that tries to connect people to nature. “The silent killer on the East End is the way our infrastructure has been built and how we’ve accommodated those who are visiting by car, versus those who live here.”
He’s been working to raise money for a 175-mile Long Island spur of the Empire State Bike Trail, which would connect Manhattan to Montauk and be known as the Long Island Greenway. The hope is that 60 percent of the trail will be off-road, in some places using rights of way under power lines.
It’s early, though, and the realization of that vision will be years away.
Mr. Lieberman said there is currently $35 million in funding for the greenway, and available state and federal grants. (The Empire State Trail is 750 miles and used $200 million in state funding plus $100 million in private funding.) While there is no set map for where the trail would traverse East Hampton, the town has already contributed $100,000 to the project.
The Sag Harbor Cycle Company, which hosts a weekly, 42-mile group ride that leaves from its shop on Bay Street, avoids Route 114 by taking participants down Sagg Road and onward toward the ocean, instead.
On a recent Saturday, as riders completed the loop, which takes them as far east as the Napeague stretch and then up through portions of Springs and Northwest Woods, they were full of downright reasonable opinions on how biking safety on the East End could be improved.
“People are teachable,” said Nick Stern, who lives in New York City but owns a house in East Hampton. Along with others, he thinks better signage that avoids a stale message like “share the road” could help. “People enjoy the karmic give and take of letting cars in all along Route 27,” he said. “If they can learn that, why can’t they learn to give cyclists more space? Of course, I was the optimist who thought Donald Trump wouldn’t win.”
“I wish in the Town of East Hampton they had roads that were designated for cyclists and had signage,” said Jacques Franey, who owns a wine store on Pantigo Road. “Not every road, but some big loop so people felt safe on certain roads. It could be Further Lane to Bluff Road. There are a lot of cyclists that use that road.”
“What amazes me, when they pave these roads, the new roundabout for example, they design it and there’s not an inch for a bicycle on that road,” said Michael Kramer, who has a house in East Hampton. The town installed a roundabout at the intersection of Stephen Hand’s Path and Long Lane this spring. “There’s nothing that prevented them from making it a little wider. They just don’t even think about it.”
The issue was raised during the design phase of the traffic circle.
At a public hearing on the project last June, Jeffrey Bragman, a local attorney and a member of the town board when the circle was first contemplated, faulted the current board for not thinking more of cyclists. “One of the things that bothers me most about it is it gives priority and precedence to cars without any thought about the pedestrians and cyclists who use that intersection,” he said.
“Biking infrastructure out here could be so much better, but it needs serious investment to get it there,” Councilman Tom Flight said in a phone call. “The more people we have on bikes, the fewer we have in cars.” He is in favor of “low-key engineering” like the signed bike loop or improved road painting.
He rides from Montauk to East Hampton Town Hall at least a couple of times a week. “I try to set an example. I have a crazy yellow jacket and helmet. I look like a turnip.”
Another biker, John Chamberlain, who owns a house in Montauk, agreed that a simple paint job could help. “The bike lanes aren’t painted. There’s a bike painted every quarter of a mile, and no one sees it. If they just put a green stripe maybe. Some kind of visual barrier, I think that would really improve the experience.”
He mentioned that bikes were not welcome in Sag Harbor Village’s downtown business district, which is true.
“They can’t [legally] bike down Main Street,” said Mayor Thomas Gardella. “It’s too dangerous. We’ve had quite a few incidents. The way parking is aligned could be a factor. This was implemented long ago.”
Others believed the restriction carried over to East Hampton Village, which is not true.
“On the main roads there are no restrictions,” said Mayor Jerry Larsen. “As long as you follow the same rules as vehicles, you’re fine. You can’t ride in the parking lots or on the sidewalks.”
Sure, bikers on the South Fork would love to see the greenway completed if it could get them away from all the roadwork and car traffic, but long ago they learned to lower their expectations.
“The other thing that would be cool is if every now and then they could sweep all the gravel off,” said Mr. Chamberlain, shrugging. “It couldn’t be that expensive for the town to bring a sweeper through now and then.”
