No North Ferry line monitoring until September
This photo taken at the height of the tourist season last summer represents the problem that existed as vehicles vied to join the ferry line from Greenport from both Wiggins Street and Third Street.
In May, North Ferry traffic from Greenport was being carefully monitored at rush hours by staff that kept vehicles from trying to enter the line from Third Street instead of Wiggins Street.But at the height of the summer season, while cones are placed to block vehicles from cutting into the ferry line, there’s no one on duty keeping vehicles from going around those cones and cutting into the line before drivers who have waited patiently to correctly enter from Wiggins Street.
It’s a matter of staffing, according to North Ferry general manager Bridg Hunt. Trying to keep ferry lines moving, he has more boats on during the summer and lacks enough staff to direct traffic, he said.
But in September, he plans to resume having a staffer direct the line in Greenport and it will still be necessary because of the number of school buses that join the lines at that time of year.
He watches the boats and lines from his office and said that while there were a few vehicles cutting in on the Greenport side Thursday morning, it wasn’t critical.
But in September, he also wants to meet with the Southold Town Transportation Commission and Greenport Village officials to discuss a few ideas he has for handling the problem that at very busy times can result in vehicles backed all the way up Third Street to the intersection with Front Street.
Vehicles are supposed to enter the line by traveling south on Sixth Street and then turning east onto Wiggins Street.
Perhaps because more drivers were being turned around in the spring, there appear to be fewer incidences of vehicles trying to enter the line from Third Street.
