Community Corner

Fall Traffic On North Fork Has Residents Seeing Red

Do you think the fall traffic on the North Fork is worse than in past years? What do you think should be done?

Traffic woes have escalated on the North Fork this year, according to residents.
Traffic woes have escalated on the North Fork this year, according to residents. (Lisa Finn/Patch)

NORTH FORK, NY — North Fork residents have taken to social media in recent weeks, bemoaning weekend traffic so bad that ordinary trips that take a few minutes can sometimes take an hour or more — and that has some staying home altogether to avoid the gridlock.

Cars, some have written, are backed up for miles as crowds head out to the North Fork for a day of fall fun.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell explained that this year's uptick in traffic and sheer volume of vehicles has a lot to do with the pandemic — and, he said, town officials are working hard to keep cars moving and residents safe.

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There is regular coordination between Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley and Riverhead Town Police Chief David Hegermiller, he said.

"There are two particular bottlenecks on Sound Avenue. One is in Jamesport and the other is in Laurel. Both locations have a police presence to make sure traffic moves as quickly as possible but, given the volume, it is a difficult task," Russell said.

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In Southold, any costs associated with personnel from the police departments, needed to handle the barrage of traffic, gets calculated and billed back to businesses generating crowds in those areas, he said.

Locals have even dubbed the congestion "pumpkin traffic," due to the influx of families heading east on the hunt for the perfect gourd.

But, Russell said, the traffic issues aren't generated by any one business.

"While those two locations do make traffic management more difficult, people need to keep in mind that a large volume of traffic isn’t created by them but by many of the attractions in Southold," he said. "It is not surprising that there seems to me more of an interest in coming. People just endured several months of an essential lockdown of entertainment opportunities and have been, undoubtedly, getting a little stir-crazy. Add to that, just about every publication known to man run articles highlighting the North Fork as the place to visit."

Flatley said he is "not sure if there is such a dramatic increase from the past or not, but the traffic volume has been heavy so far, fueled by the nice weather we have had on these past couple weekends."

Flatley added: "The two Harbes' properties on Sound Avenue have continued to be a chokepoint for traffic traveling to the North Fork and both locations continue to be busy, even with their attempts to limit their capacity levels."

Chief Hegermiller and he have met several times to coordinate their response to the traffic issues and a traffic plan to best address "the problem locations," Flatley said. "We have also met with the Harbes family to discuss and go over the governor’s guidelines on agri-tourism during this pandemic."

Flatley added: "The wineries on the North Fork continue to be a destination and we are at peak travel time now," he said. "I think a lot of the winery visitors also view these venues as being safer, as they are outside and afford them the ability to social distance while enjoying themselves. This winery traffic, coupled with the farm locations, definitely makes it challenging."

Flatley said police have not seen any significant increase in crashes or accidents on the fall weekends, for the most part.

"We have been running an extra detail of four officers each weekend to supplement our patrol units in an attempt to move traffic through these chokepoints," he said.

Hegermiller also discussed the traffic issue: "I don't know that it is worse than in other years. It does seem that that the season/traffic did start earlier than in the past," he said. "That coupled with the beautiful weather that we have been having on the weekends may make it seem worse. Our daily traffic activity doesn't seem any different than in years' past. If I agreed with your statement, I would say that maybe more people are choosing outdoor activities during the pandemic."

Flatley and he, Hegermiller said, "have been working tirelessly on the seasonal traffic issue for the last couple years, but you must realize that like sand in an hourglass, there is a given flow rate to a two-lane road. Once you overload it with vehicles and you have to stop for turning vehicles, pedestrians crossing, a traffic light or stop sign, traffic builds pretty quickly. We have had limited success in providing a turn lane on Sound Avenue and providing staffed posts at given locations to override traffic control devices. We have also worked with our farmers; some have cut capacity by reducing parking. That may not be advantageous, since once the lots close motorists slow down because they don't know where to go. Some have also made it a better value to come Monday through Friday than to come on the weekends."

Hegermiller discussed a possible way to resolve the problem: "There is a solution, more or bigger roads, but no one wants that," he said. "I do wonder why you don't hear the same complaining from the South Fork where can easily take you an extremely long time to get around."


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