Montauk Highway lane changes frustrate Sayville residents

Suffolk County abruptly removed and later restored lanes on Montauk Highway in Sayville during the past few weeks as part of an effort to calm traffic, but the changes sparked widespread confusion and traffic backups, residents said. 

A county spokesman called the road narrowing a “pilot initiative” but did not elaborate on the nature of the program, its cost, who approved it or whether neighbors were notified. 

Suffolk County Legis. Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville), who represent the area, wrote in a Facebook post that the Department of Public Works told him the initiative was triggered by complaints over "speeding and reckless driving."

The county roadwork happened late last month. It involved cutting the number of travel lanes in half — from a total of four to two, one in each direction — from roughly the highway's intersection with South Street to just past Broadway Avenue, almost a 1-mile segment. For almost all of that stretch, there's a middle turning lane that was unaffected.

Drivers from adjacent neighborhoods often need to make right-hand turns onto the highway, but the county didn't include right-hand merging lanes to allow vehicles to gradually enter the flow of traffic. Instead, the county largely covered the right lanes in both directions with white stripes, creating what was essentially a massive shoulder.

The changes were without warning, jammed up traffic by forcing every vehicle into one lane in each direction and made it nearly impossible for neighborhood drivers to turn right onto the highway, according to residents who spoke with Newsday.

Community members have begun referring the incident as “the debacle,” according to Eileen Tyznar of the Greater Sayville Chamber of Commerce.

“It was kind of shocking. You woke up one day and everything was different,” said Tyznar, who said she struggled to figure out what lane to use when driving that day. “It’s just terribly strange.”

'Pilot initiative'

County spokesman Michael Martino told Newsday in an email that “this was a pilot initiative, and the county is assessing the performance and soliciting feedback from the community during the pilot period before any permanent changes are implemented.”

Neither Martino nor the county’s Department of Public Works responded to questions about the nature of the initiative, why the road was repainted for a temporary project or how much the county spent on the painting.

Tyznar said she received dozens of calls from frustrated community members. Others posted on Facebook. Some, like Kristen Leyboldt, reached out to the Public Works Department for information but said they got none.

“The backup … and the confusion on Broadway was ridiculous,” said Leyboldt, who lives near Blackbirds' Grille, close to the highway's intersection with Broadway Avenue. “I sat there for eight minutes trying to get off my block.”

“It was not just inconvenient. It was really dangerous,” she added, citing the right-hand turns out of her street onto the highway that put her immediately into traffic.

Lanes suddenly reopened

The lanes reopened just as suddenly as they were shut down. About two weeks ago, residents found that only black shadows of the recently painted white lines remained, and the right lanes were once again available for driving.

“That was another thing: All of the sudden it was done. Both times. It was just like, how come they don’t let people know this? I was surprised at that myself,” said Roy Andersen, who lives off Montauk Highway on Seville Boulevard, near Off The Block Kitchen & Meats.

Piccirillo, the county legislator, said in his Facebook post he had "spoken to DPW at length" and was told the lane changes were a temporary means for the department "to collect data and look at traffic patterns." 

"That's the information I received," Piccirillo told Newsday via text.

Tyznar questioned whether the roadwork was intended to be temporary, telling Newsday that “in my opinion, if that is the case, you would have put up temporary barriers or temporary signs.”

Leyboldt took issue with the county apparently not notifying residents. Newsday attempted to verify the lack of resident notification multiple times with DPW and Martino, the county spokesman. Neither responded.

Andersen gave the county credit for reversing the change, if it was in response to public pushback.

“Everybody complained. They put it on Facebook,” he said. “Then, about two weeks later, it was changed back. I was like, ‘Wow, for once they listened to the people.’ It was really nice to see.”