Southold's draft Comprehensive Plan sees more daily, seasonal traffic

Southold officials said this week that completion of the draft of the town's updated Comprehensive Plan, whose final chapter on transportation and infrastructure projects an increase in daily and fall congestion, should place the town in a better position to seek grants to address that issue and others.

The chapter was completed Aug. 3 by Manhattan-based planning and engineering consulting firm AKRF Inc. It outlined future transportation needs and recommended goals to solve Southold’s seasonal traffic congestion and expand the town’s utility infrastructure. The plan requires public review before the town board can adopt it.

Members of the town and planning boards will take public comments on the plan next week during meetings in Mattituck, Greenport and Peconic.

Town Supervisor Scott Russell said the updated plan would be the reference point for all future policies, goals and objectives for Southold.

“Basically, it’s adopting a blueprint on where the town should be going to improve itself, changes in zoning, things like that," Russell said. "That’s the basis of it all.”

Planning board representatives did not respond to several requests for comment.

According to Annual Average Daily Traffic data in the chapter, traffic volumes townwide increased between 2014 and 2016 from approximately 113,000 to 117,000 vehicles, resulting in an annual growth rate of approximately 1.4 percent.

Weekday traffic during Southold’s busy summer and fall seasons can be up to 50 percent higher than the average month, while weekend traffic in that period can be up to 90 percent higher, according to data in the chapter from the state Department of Transportation’s 2017 Seasonal Adjustment Factors Tables for all roads in the town.

With development in Southold projected to increase, the document states, everyday traffic is also expected to increase, “and it is possible that the type of traffic congestion observed to occur during fall weekends could become commonplace throughout the year.”

The chapter recommends growth strategies and transportation improvements, such as installing continuous traffic count stations along key routes like County Route 48, State Route 25 and Peconic Bay Boulevard to monitor seasonal fluctuations, expanding bicycle routes, multiuse trails and walkable paths and creating traffic-calming measures for each hamlet.

The chapter notes that though the town has “significant coverage” in developed areas from electrical, water, and wired communications utilities, sewer lines connected to a treatment plan only exist in a small part of town. Wireless service is also limited in certain sections of Southold, while natural gas main service is not available beyond portions of State Route 25 and County Route 48.

The chapter recommends Southold increase its supporting infrastructure by finding alternative solutions to treat sewage waste on site or in small community systems and exploring alternative energy sources, including solar, wind and tidal energy.

Town officials have expressed interest in seeking either county or state funding to conduct traffic studies along certain roads to help find traffic-reduction solutions. Having a plan in place, Russell said, would better position Southold to obtain such grants.

“If you’re applying for grants and you’re referencing the need for that grant to addressing an issue raised in the Comprehensive Plan, that always helps your case,” he said.