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Politics & Government

Lighted Crosswalks Coming to East Hampton Village

Plans for lighted crosswalks were presented to the village board in an attempt to increase pedestrian safety.

Plans are in the works for illuminated crosswalks in the Village of East Hampton.  According to Ron Hill of Dunn Engineering, there is no other form of pedestrian safety like this on Long Island.

Hill said at a meeting of the village board on Friday that illuminated crosswalks on Main Street, by Huntting Lane and The Circle, to increase safety where there are four lanes of travel.  Safety and warning devices will be at either side of the crosswalks. Just the push of a button, and as pedestrians cross the street, a light will flash that will warn drivers to slow down and stop.  A 9-by-12 inch sign will be placed above the button with instructions for pedestrians on how to operate this safety mechanism.  The system will run off the existing street light system.

Hill said the system is new to state highways, such as the portion of Main Street that is part of the state-owned Montauk Highway. 

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The village already has manual traffic controls, and this proposed system posed some concern for Village Administrator Larry Cantwell for the busy summer season.  "What issues might arise between manual traffic controls and the lights?" he asked Hill.  He was concerned there could be conflict between multiple people pushing the buttons from each side of the street, and also the manual measures that traffic controllers take. 

Federal guidelines in the way the lighted crosswalks are installed and laid out are available, Hill said, adding that these kind of issues are accounted for in the design to minimize any conflict of the two.

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Although the idea was well received, this was not a satisfying answer to many in the room.  The illuminated crosswalks will hopefully slow people down, but it will not necessarily make them stop.  Barbara Borsack, a member of the board, followed up to Cantwell's question to Hill by asking him, "Have you been out here in the summer?"

As of when the illuminated crosswalks will be up and running has yet to be determined.  So far, the board said, there has been no response from the New York State Department of Transportation.

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