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Residents press Brightwaters board to push state on Montauk Highway safety
Summary
Residents urged village officials to press the state for traffic calming on Montauk Highway after multiple serious crashes and near-misses; officials recommended petitions, speed trailers and coordination with state DOT engineers.
Residents told the Brightwaters Village Board that Montauk Highway remains dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists and pressed the village to push state agencies for visible traffic-calming measures.
"What's enough?" Mary Kate Malai asked at the meeting, pointing to recent serious crashes and asking why officials say the state has "not enough" accidents to act. Malai identified herself and asked the board for clarity about the state threshold for interventions. Justin Bennett, who briefed the board on police contacts and patrol plans, said the hamlet’s accident share is low in pooled precinct data: "we fall on the bottom end of that with 2% of the accidents for that entire hamlet, which is 321 accidents over the course of that time." He advised residents that the precinct will try to maintain a presence and to deploy the village’s speed trailer when it is out of the shop.
Board members and residents described three related safety problems: high vehicle speeds, a curb-cut/ADA ramp that encourages mid-block crossings without a marked crosswalk, and confusing posted speeds as roadway geometry changes. Trustees urged residents to compile petitions and specific data, and one trustee said the village can gather signatures, coordinate with local legislators and then escalate requests to the New York Department of Transportation. The board and several residents favored incremental local steps — petitions, targeted patrols and temporary devices — while continuing to press the state for permanent solutions.
