Town board adopts temporary Shrubland Road access rule for US Open after resident objections

The Southampton Town Board on June 9 adopted a temporary amendment to town code to allow designated buses to make left turns onto Shrubland Road from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. June 14–21 as part of the US Open traffic mitigation plan. Deputy Town Attorney Christine Scalera presented the local-law change as a narrowly tailored, time‑limited measure tied to the tournament’s traffic plan.

Council members raised several concerns during the public hearing and debate, chiefly about local residents’ ability to access their homes and how enforcement would work. One council member said residents would still be barred from making the left turn now and during the Open and said the change favored tournament traffic over neighbors’ convenience. Another asked whether resident passes could be added; Scalera and staff said enforcement would be challenging and suggested tabling to consult traffic staff, but the board moved forward so the rule had legal backing for the event.

Supervisor (chair) and a majority of board members supported the measure as a temporary safety and traffic‑management tool; one board member voted no, citing fairness to residents and concerns about extended traffic delays and business impacts. The board directed staff to conduct a debrief after the event to document lessons learned and improvements for future large events.

The local law will be in effect only for the stated dates and hours for the US Open; the board noted that other road restrictions in the area remain unchanged outside those times. The board also asked staff to follow up on resident pass options and enforcement logistics during the post‑event review.