State plans traffic safety upgrades for Shelter Island
There are still areas of the Island where traffic concerns need to be addressed, but in certain areas, appeals from Police Chief Jim Read and Highway Superintendent Brian Sherman have produced results.
An area between Chase Creek Bridge and Winthrop Road will be reduced in speed from 30 to 25 mph, and will be posted with new pedestrian crossing signs. All faded signs will be replaced and new signs installed, according to New York State Department of Transportation Regional Traffic Engineer M.T. Vijahyendran.
The work will be completed by the State DOT Maintenance Group “as soon as their schedule permits, Mr. Vijahyendran said in a Sept. 22 letter to Chief Read. It was in response to a June letter from the two town officials who had reached out citing “numerous blind spots, businesses and limited or no shoulders.”
They requested consideration of adding stop signs; a reduction in the speed limit; use of speed tables, similar to speed bumps but more flat; wider shoulders; installation of sidewalks; and bicycle lanes.
The June letter had asked Richard Causin, a regional director of the DOT, for an inspection during July or August when the Island’s population is highest.
“The most significant change is a posted speed reduction,” Chief Read said.
He noted that the DOT plans maintenance and drainage improvements in the same area. That statewide program is to be undertaken throughout areas of both Suffolk and Nassau counties and is expected to start in the spring of 2024.
The project will clean, repair or replace existing drainage systems to maintain reliability and integrity and improve overall highway safety for the traveling public, according to Design Unit Supervisor Vinicio Lora. While he provided an estimate of timing for the work, he advised it could change and asked Chief Read to assist in sharing information with key businesses once the timing becomes more certain.
Chief Read called the inclusion of these projects a demonstration of the “excellent working relationship with NYSDOT,” and said he looks forward to the safety enhancements.
The chief also said he and Mr. Sherman have been looking at ways to enhance safety on Shore Road near the bend as traffic approaches Crescent Beach from the east to west at the town bathroom and pavilion. That was the site of a crash on Aug. 17 that damaged the pavilion and landed the vehicle in the water. The operator was charged with driving while intoxicated, speeding and failing to stop at a stop sign.
Chief Read, Mr. Sherman, Town Engineer Joe Finora and a Suffolk County Department of Public Works representative are reviewing the site and searching for “reasonable approaches” to alert drivers of a steep grade and possible dangerous curve, the chief said. He promised to provide notice of a proposal when it’s developed.
His department has made some efforts in the past to slow traffic on St. Mary’s Road in response to neighbors’ complaints and concerns about young children who live in the area. They have also raised concerns about truck traffic using the road instead of remaining on Route 114.
