Village Board Moves Toward A More Bicycle Friendly East Hampton

Last Wednesday, July 31, the Village Board of East Hampton accepted a policy to begin plotting what an East Hampton village safer for bicyclists would look like, the East Hampton Press reported.

The tragic death of 14-year-old Anna Lytton on June 15, has brought the issue of cyclist safety back to the board's attention, but the new policy— involving the sketching out of possible plans— is just the beginning of necessary change, Paul Fiondella, member of a committee for increased bike safety, told the East Hampton Press.

"Too many people have died,” Fiondella told the Press on Tuesday. “We need to have a community in which people are not afraid to get on their bikes and go to the post office and they’re not afraid to walk to the village or their schools. The Village Board approached this entire issue with the idea of trying to get a problem solved for the community and want to see some progress on that.”

Among the proposals Fiondella and others like him are pushing for, the Press reported, are additional bicycle lanes on village roads, complete separation of motor vehicle and bicycle traffic, and in places where not enough space is available on the paved roads to provide for bike lanes, three new feet of paved road on either side of the street.

Though Mayor Paul Rickenbach Jr. told the Press on Monday, Aug. 5, that the board will take all of the suggestions into consideration, the last push for road expansion is unlikely.

“Although bona fide bike lanes would be a panacea for the cycling community, I am not certain the Board of Trustees is at that point in time to widen these locations to offer defined bike lanes,” he told the Press. “To do so, in my opinion would detract from the overall beauty and bucolic ambiance that candidly, makes our village America’s most beautiful.”