Newtown Lane getting LED-lighted crosswalk

East Hampton Village will be getting an illuminated crosswalk on Newtown Lane, similar to the two lighted crosswalks already installed on Main Street.

The special crosswalks use buried LED lights, placed along the length of the crosswalk, that flash when pedestrians push a button to cross, creating a band of light across the road that attracts the attention of motorists long before they can actually see a person crossing in the dark.

Suffolk County will be giving the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce a $37,000 grant that will cover about half of the $75,000 cost of the project, according to Suffolk Legis. Jay Schneiderman (I-Montauk). The money comes from New York State and can be distributed by the county, but cannot go directly to another government agency, his office said.

The rest of the money will be paid by the village.

East Hampton Village strictly enforces a 30-mph speed limit in its crowded business district, the only place in the Hamptons where two-lane Montauk Highway expands to four lanes across.

The new crosswalk will be installed about 500 feet north of Main Street, and officials hope the work can be completed before next summer, because some traffic lanes will have to be closed during the installation process, expected to take about a week.

While traffic in East Hampton Village is relatively light in the spring, it increases dramatically in summer as the streets fill with cars and trucks heading east to Montauk or north to communities from Springs to Three Mile Harbor. There is also a big increase in pedestrian traffic on the village streets.

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Village Mayor Paul Rickenbach said the existing lighted crosswalks have already shown they have added to pedestrian safety.