Long-Awaited Turning Arrow Comes to Busy Hampton Bays Intersection

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS - Residents of Hampton Bays are rejoicing over a new turning arrow to be installed at a major intersection on Montauk Highway.

According to Robert Ross, volunteer chair of the Southampton Town’s public safety commission and a longtime Hampton Bays resident, he’s been advocating for 15 years to have a turning arrow installed at the intersection of Montauk Highway and Ponquogue Avenue.

Left turns for cars heading west leads to the post office, the ambulance building, three public schools, the library and the fire department sub-station, as well as to the beach, he said.

“I have tried for 15 years to have the county — it’s a county road, also known as CR80 — to install turning arrows. It’s currently almost impossible to make the lefthand turn. You need to do so as the right turns yellow and pray,” he said.

Ross said when he was serving as Southampton Town Deputy Supervisor, he spoke with then-Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman — now Southampton Town Supervisor — about having the turn arrows installed.

Schneiderman, he said, was chair of the Suffolk County Legislature’s public works committee and later, the deputy presiding officer.

“I met Jay at the intersection and he agreed the turning light was needed,” he said.

Schneiderman, he said, contacted Gil Anderson, Suffolk County Commissioner of Public Works, and Bill Hillman, the Suffolk County Department of Public Works’ chief engineer. “Now that the county is doing roadwork on Montauk Highway the turning arrows were included in the scope of work. Yes, it’s taken many years, but it’s finally happening.”

Ross said he’d received confirmation recently from Anderson recently that the installation would happen and, “just by chance this morning, trying to make the left to go to the post office, I saw Johnson Electric, the county’s contractor putting the lights on the sidewalk.”

Ross thanked Schneiderman, Anderson and Hillman for getting the sorely-needed turning signal installed.

Patch photo courtesy of Robert Ross.